TJ and His Princess
by Evie Malfoy
Summary: Tristan and Rory were friends in Kindergarten but were separated. Now in high school, they have been reunited but neither realises. TRORY!
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer:_I do not own Gilmore Girls.

_Summary:_ Tristan and Rory were friends in Kindergarten but were separated. Now in high school, they have been reunited- but neither realises. TRORY

* * *

Hartford kindergarten was buzzing with young, sugar-high children running and jumping about. It was their first day! It was almost time for them to go home, so most were taking advantage of the little time they had left with their newly found friends.

It seemed as though everyone was having an excellent time… except for one lone girl, sitting all by herself in the corner watching everyone play, whilst secretly wishing that she could join in on the fun.

Meanwhile, another little kid was playing tag with his friends when he noticed a little girl sitting there in the corner whom he had never seen before. Intrigued, he decided to find out who she was, so he told his friends he didn't want to play anymore, and much to their protests, he walked over to the mysterious young girl.

He sat down next to her silently for a while, but she didn't seem to notice him there, so he asked, "Why are you sitting all by yourself?"

She looked up at him slowly and simply shrugged her shoulders

"Are you lonely?" he continued.

She nodded.

"Why?" he asked

The little girl muttered quietly, "coz no one wants to play with me", her bright blue eyes began to well up with tears.

The boy furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought, "Hmmm," he pondered. "You can play with me?"

"Really?!" she asked, surprised. Her eyes sparkled with tears but she was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah!!" The boy smiled a big, goofy smile, showing big gaps where his front two teeth should have been, "You wanna go draw with me?" he asked, thoughtfully.

The girl smiled and nodded and the pair set off to a small, plastic, yellow table in the middle of the room and began to draw some pictures.

"My name's TJ" The boy said.

The little girl giggled. "That's a silly name!"

"Is not!" Little TJ poked out his tongue. "What's your name then?"

"Lori." She announced, proudly.

"Well… ha! Yeah…" he said, unable to think of a clever reply.

Bored of drawing, TJ pushed his work aside and rested his head on his hands. "What are you drawing, Lori?" TJ asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"A princess!", she announced happily.

TJ looked at her picture. "Is it you?", he asked

Lori shook her head. "No, you Silly Billy! I'm not a princess!"

TJ looked slightly puzzled at this news. "Well, why not?" he asked.

"I dunno" She replied, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well…" TJ started, "You can be _my _princess?"

Lori giggled. "Okay!"

The pair continued to chatter happily until it was time for Lori to go.

A tall brunette walked up behind Lori and put her hands over her eyes, "Guess who?" she said, in a deep comical voice.

"Mommy!" she cried.

The lady removed her hands from Lori's eyes and smiled to her. "How was your first day?" she asked.

Lori closed her eyes to emphasize her point and said, "Very cool" She opened her eyes and looked up at her Mom. "Oh yeah, Mom, you gotta meet my new friend! This is TJ!" She said, pointing to TJ.

"Hello 'Mam" he greeted

Lori's mom looked a bit taken-back by the four-year-old's manners but replied, "Heya TJ"

Lori made sure her Mom's attention was fully back on her before adding cheekily, "AND, TJ says I can be his princess!"

"Ooooh" Her Mom teased and TJ smiled. "Well TJ it's very nice to meet you!" she said, smiling back at him.

Lori's mom turned her head back to Lori and said with a sigh, "Well Lor, honey, I think it's time for us to go home now."

"But Mommy," she whined, "can't I just stay and play with TJ for a _little_ bit longer?"

Her mother looked at her apologetically and said, "I'm sorry Lori but it's home time now and TJ will have to go home soon anyway."

Lori pouted. "Fine." She turned to TJ, and said in a slightly lighter tone, "I have to go home now. But I'll see you tomorrow, won't I?"

"I think so." He said, shugging.

Lori got out of her chair and took her Mom's hand as they walked away.

"Bye Princess!" TJ called after them and waved goodbye to her as she walked away.


	2. Chapter One

**Summary:** Tristan and Rory were friends in Kindergarten but were separated. Now in high school, they have been reunited- but neither realises. TRORY

**Disclaimer: **Sue me if you want. I have a whole 10c! Australian! So thats like 11c US. Awesome.

**A/N **Heya! This is the first chapter of my fanfic- I really hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the reviews for my last chapter- they were absolutely awesome! Anyway- enough of my ramblings- Enjoy!

* * *

Rory very gradually awoke from her deep slumber to the sound of her mother singing merrily in the kitchen, outside her bedroom door.

She blinked once, then twice. She furrowed her eyebrows, as she remembered the dream she had just had. She had been having them at random times ever since she arrived at Chilton. Although they were always difference scenes, they always featured the same two people: Rory and TJ.

Rory smiled as she thought back on the dream. Last night she had been dreaming about her first day at Kindergarten; the day she had met TJ.

Her smile broadened and she felt a sudden warmth surge throughout her body as the image of TJ filled her mind. She and TJ had been best friends since the first day they met. She had been his princess. They had played pirates and mommies and daddies together and every day at naptime they napped next to each other. They spent all day at kinder together and then on the weekends were always playing at each other's house. They had thought they were indestructible.

But evidently, they were not.

As they say- all good things must come to an end, and apparently, TJ and Rory's friendship was no exception. 6 months before they finished kindergarten, TJ had been pulled out of kinder and was sent to a posh school in uptown Hartford.

The warmth suddenly left Rory's body and she snuggled back into her doona. _'Hmm what day is it? Saturday, Sunday- oh no its Monday!'_

This made Rory force herself awake. "What time is it?" She groggily pondered aloud. She propped herself up onto her elbow and looked at her alarm clock.

"7.30! NO!" She cried and jumped about 2 feet in the air. She began to madly run around her room trying to gather her clothes, all thought of TJ instantly vanishing.

"Rory? Hun, is that you?" Lorelai's voice was heard from outside the door. "Shouldn't you be gone by now?"

"I'm late!" she cried back, very distressed.

Lorelai pushed Rory's bedroom door, coffee in both hands. Calmly, she handed Rory one of the cups of the steaming ambrosia to Rory and said, "I'll drive you."

Rory skulled the coffee Lorelai had just handed her and muttered her thanks before continuing to scramble around the room, as well as trying to get dressed at the same time.

After around five minutes, she finally emerged from her room, looking rather dishevelled, and before Lorelai could even make a dirty joke about the state of her appearance, Rory had grabbed the keys and was half way out to the car.

"Hey kid! Helloooo! Driver still in the house!" Lorelai cried as she jogged out to an anxious Rory, who was waiting at the car.

* * *

Chilton. One of Rory's favourite places in the entire world. The teachers were delightful- always very accepting of her. Oh, and the Chiltonites! Well if they aren't the friendliest people you'll ever meet… Not to mention the lockers. Impeccable standard of course! Open first try _every_ time…

NOT!

"Oh come on! You awful locker, don't do this to me. It's Monday morning. Oh, come_ on_. You know what? I hate you locker. You're evil." Rory slammed the palm of her hand onto the cool metal of her locker door, frustrated.

"Pretty please will you open? I promise wont call you evil ever again." Rory was now beyond desperate. Her first class started in a few minutes and she_ needed _her books. She punched her locker with both hands several times, but still, it wouldn't move. "I'm going to be late!" she cried, exasperated.

Rory spun her combination on the lock again and hit it, attempting once again to open it, but her efforts her to no avail.

She was becoming delirious. "Surely trying to negotiate with inanimate objects is a sign of madness" Rory pondered to herself, aloud, but then suddenly gasped, as though thinking her locker could hear her. "I didn't mean that! You're not just an inanimate object!" She tried to console her locker, stroking it with her left hand. "Who's a pretty locker? Yes! You are! You great hunk-a-spunk-you!" She cooed to it.

And then she heard the footsteps.

"Hunk-a-spunk? Gee Mary, isn't that a little forward for you? I mean I knew you wanted me- but that was some confession!"

Tristan.

'_Lovely. That's just what I need right now.' _She thought, sarcastically

"Go away, Tristan." She said, coldly.

He pretended to look hurt but retorted playfully, "My, my, Mary. Why the sudden change in attitude?"

Rory ignored Tristan, who had put the books he was carrying on top of the lockers and was now casually leaning against the locker next to hers, with his trademark smirk plastered to his face. She continued to struggle with her locker.

"You know Mary, you look like you could do with my _assistance_ right now." He said, his words dripping with innuendo.

'_Maybe if I ignore him, he'll disappear.' _Rory thought, hopefully.

"For a smart girl, I'm surprised you're having such trouble managing such a simple task. After all, it is _just_ a locker."He commented smugly

Rory looked at him, her expression looking highly bored by him, but also very panicked about the time. "He won't open." She stated simply.

"He?" Tristan raised an eyebrow, suggestively.

"Lachlan." She replied.

"You named your locker!" he asked, incredulously.

Rory said nothing, but gave him a look that clearly said, 'DUH!'

"Well," Tristan said, oh-so suave, "I'll see what I can do about that. Combination?"

"It's not going to open." She said, stubbornly.

Tristan's smirked broadened and he repeated, "Combination?"

Rory sighed and slumped dejectedly against the locker. Reluctantly, she said, "12, 10, 46"

"Ha," he commented, "Coincidence."

Rory decided to even pretend she was interested in why, and stayed silent. But Tristan went on, "That's my Dad's birthdate."

"Your Dad is old." Was all she said

Tristan chuckled and said, "Don't I know it" Before turning back to the locker and resuming his usual state of cockiness, "You see Mary, it's simple. Just do the combination, yank the thing and give it a good hit." He commentated smugly. "It's not that hard. But I guess I've had more _experience _using my hands than you." He said, very suggestively.

Rory rolled her eyes as she watched Tristan, looking very confident, spin Rory's combination and casually knock his fist against her locker.

It didn't move.

Tristan's smirk faltered. He hit it again.

Still, it didn't budge.

If it was in any other situation, and she didn't have less than a minute to get to class, Rory would have laughed. _Very_ hard.

Tristan rubbed the back of his neck trying to hide his embarrassment. "There's obviously something wrong with it." He covered up.

But Rory didn't care. She was on the verge of tears. Apart from one incident ("The dear hit _me_!") her attendance record was perfect- and she needed it to stay that way.

Tristan, sensing her distress, thought over it and quickly came up with a solution.

"We've Drama with O'Donnell next, don't we?" He asked her.

Rory didn't see the point of his question but answered, "Yeah."

Tristan reached up on top of the lockers and got his books down. "Take my text books."

Rory looked at him, dumbfounded. "You need them."

Tristan slumped against the lockers once again, too-cool-for-school. "Nah, Drama is a bore. I was planning to skip it anyway."

"No you weren't. You-"

Tristan cut her off. "The bell's going to go any second!" He urged. "Go! Run!"

Too worried about the situation to really think it over, Rory took his textbooks from him and mumbled a quick 'thanks'. Then she turned around and ran in the direction of her class.

No more than 20 seconds after Rory had gone; the bell rang through the halls of Chilton.

Slowly, Tristan pushed himself off the lockers. He stood up straight and loosened his tie a little. "What I do for her…" He pondered aloud, casually walking away.


	3. Chapter Two

_Disclaimer_: Sadly, neither gilmore girls or chad michael murray belong to me. Yet.

* * *

As she stepped out of the Drama classroom, Rory guiltily did a once-over of the corridor, looking for Tristan.

He had been right- Drama was an absolute bore. Especially including the fact that the class just had to sit a major exam.

Usually at this point, Rory would be feeling relieved that the test was over- but not today. She had been responsible for Tristan missing the exam, and what made it even worse was that Mr. O'Donnell had _stressed_ it could and would not be sat at another time. And just to top it all off- Tristan's books had not even been needed. They had not even so much as glanced at their textbooks all lesson.

She didn't like Tristan! Not even as a friend! So why was she feeling so guilty? It was just another stupid test to Tristan… wasn't it?

After a few moments of not seeing him, she pulled out her latest novel, and shut her locker, Tristan's books still in hand.

She was halfway out to her favorite reading spot in the courtyard when she heard Tristan calling out behind her. "Gilmore- Wait up!"

Rory slowed and let Tristan catch up to her. He grinned at her casually and leant against the nearest locker. "Hey there, Mary"

Rory completely avoided eye contact with Tristan but nodded back in greeting.

"So- did I miss anything remotely interesting?" He asked casually, obviously unaware of Rory's discomfort.

Rory took a deep breath. "Yeah, actually you missed something kind of important. You see-"

"Mister DuGrey." A stern voice from behind Tristan cut in.

Tristan did a 180 turn to see his, well, _vertically challenged_ drama teacher glaring up at him.

"Mr. O'Donnell" he greeted, nodding

"Mister DuGrey," he repeated in a very dramatic tone, "_Once again_ you have failed to bless us with your presence at my drama class. Would you care to explain _why_?"

Before Tristan could say answer, the teacher carried on. "AND- as it happens, today's was a _very_ important class. This morning the students had their written examination, which can_not_ be sat at another time. Do you _realize _what this means for you?"

Tristan tried once again to answer him but he kept going, "_And_ as you may well be aware, the examination that was sat today just _happens_ to be 30 of your final grade for this semester. But do you know what _else_ you are graded on?"

Tristan didn't even attempt to answer as he slumped back on to the lockers. "Attendance." Mr. O'Donnell ploughed on, "Your attendance to my class this semester accounts for another 30 of your _final grade_. Now, you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you Mister DuGrey?"

Tristan had a look on his face that clearly displayed that he did not care. But Mr. O'Donnell just kept going. "Due to the fact that you have only showed up to 3 of the 9 classes so far this semester, I have no choice but to give you an _F _for attendance. As well as this, you have been awarded an automatic _fail_ on your examination this morning for not turning up. _Now_ Mister DuGrey, do you know what this means?"

Suspecting that this was once again, a rhetorical question, Tristan stood there waiting for him to rampage on again. But after a moment, he realized Mr. O'Donnell actually wanted him to answer. Tristan stood up straight and said carelessly, "No?"

This enraged Mr. O'Donnell. "Mister DuGrey, this means you are going to _fail _drama!!"

This panicked Tristan. "Fail?"

Mr. O'Donnell smiled slyly at the fact that he finally had Tristan's attention. "Yes. _Fail."_ He repeated. "Unless…"

Tristan was growing impatient with this tiny man, "Yes?"

"Well there is one way you could boost your score up to scrape a pass. I have some extra-credit work in mind…"

Tristan nodded, urging the tiny man to go on.

"Chilton's annual musical is coming up later this term. Considering your natural acting ability, the cast would most likely benefit if you were a part of it. If you were to audition for this musical, and get a role, then I will pass you. That is- _only_ if I feel that your performance is to the very _highest_ standard."

Tristan smirked. Too easy. "Alright. You got yourself a deal, Little Man." Tristan said, shaking hands with the teacher, noting that Mr. O'Donnell looked unphased by his comment. He started to move away when he decided to ask, "But I do have one question- what musical is it?"

Mr. O'Donnell matched Tristan's smirk. "Peter Pan." He said, coolly.

"What?!" Tristan cried out, "No way." He shook his head and slumped back against the locker once again. "Tristan Janlen DuGrey does _not_ do Peter Pan."

Mr. O'Donnell mimicked Tristan's posture and said calmly, "And does Tristan Janlen DuGrey- grandson of Margaret Delarou, I might add- fail drama?"

Tristan sighed, clearly defeated. "No, sir."

Mr. O'Donnell smiled cheerfully. "Well then Mister DuGrey, I will see _you_ at auditions!"

Mr. O'Donnell then turned to see Rory standing behind Tristan, who looked very torn- not knowing whether she should laugh or feel guilty. "And Miss Gilmore? I suspect I'll see you at auditions also!"

Rory immediately shook herself out of her daze. "Me? Uh, no, sir. Drama isn't really my forte."

"But Miss Gilmore, surely being in a Chilton musical would look _most_ impressive on your application to college."

"With all due respect, sir, I'd really rather not."

"Oh, but Miss Gilmore, last year Lydia Grant had the main role in the Chilton musical and she was accepted into every college she applied to- _including_ Harvard."

Tristan smirked at her, enjoying her discomfort, "Yes, Miss Gilmore. Harvard." He piped in

Rory glared at Tristan and bit back her remark about how Lydia had _only_ applied for Harvard and replied, "I'm sorry sir. Maybe next year."

Mr. O'Donnell shrugged. "Well then, suit yourself." He adjusted the scarf around his neck and turned back to Tristan and said, "Mr. DuGrey, I expect you to have put your name on the auditions list on the Drama notice board and taken a copy of the audition piece to _memorize_ for your audition by the end of the day. Auditions are this Thursday at lunchtime in the auditorium. Don't be late!" With this, Mr. O'Donnell turned on his heel and walked away.

As soon as he was gone, Rory hit Tristan on the arm. "Tristan! What was that for?"

Tristan looked at Rory innocently. "What? All I did was encourage the little shit."

"Exactly!"

Suddenly, Tristan turned serious. "Well Mary, if my memory serves me correctly, the reason I missed that un-re-sittable test this morning and am now forced into doing Peter _bloody_ Pan was because _somebody_ needed my text books. And you can't turn up to Mr. O.D's class without your textbooks." He deadpanned.

This enraged Rory. "No one forced you to lend me your books! In fact- if _my_ memory serves me correctly, your exact words were, 'Drama is a bore. I was planning to skip it anyway'." She mimicked, putting on a deep voice before adding, "Were they not?"

Tristan smirked. "Remembering my exact words now, Mary?"

Rory rolled her eyes and huffed. _'Talk about mood swings'_ "Your impossible, you know that?"

Tristan's smirk remained plastered to his face, "Impossible? Mary, Mary, Mary. How many times do I need to tell you? If you want me-just say the word."

"My name is RORY" she cried, utterly frustrated, and walked past Tristan, out to the courtyard, unaware that Tristan's books were still in her hands.

"See you at auditions!" he called after her

"I'm not auditioning!" she called back.

Tristan smiled innocently at her retreating back and walked towards the cafeteria.

* * *

**AN **Thanks so much for all the reviews from last chapter- I know everyone says it but they really do make a difference. So keep up the good work and I will too lol


	4. Chapter Three

_Summary:_ Tristan and Rory were friends in Kindergarten but were separated. Now in high school, they have been reunited- but neither realises. TRORY

_Just So You Know:_Jess does not exist. Dean and Rory are still dating. Just so you know

_Disclaimer:_ Is anything your own these days? Enough said

You can pretty much figure out for yourselves which bits are flashbacks, because they only come in huge chunks but the other few other lines in _italics_ are thoughts.

* * *

_"Red paint would look way better, TJ" Lori told him matter-of-factly, leaning over his shoulder, to see his finger painting._

_"Oh yeah?" he giggled mischievously, dipping his whole hand in the red paint._

_Not noticing TJ's hand, Lori put her hands on her hips and nodded smugly. "Yeah."_

_"Well," he started, inching closer, "I think it would look better on YOU!" he shouted the last part, gleefully, placing his hand on Lori's head, covering her in red paint._

_Lori's mouth opened in shock but she recovered quickly. Giggling, she dipped her hand in the cup of green paint and put her hand on TJ's blonde head._

_TJ grinned and continued to dip his hand in the paint and splatter Lori with paint, as she did the same to him._

_Soon, the two children were covered from head to toe in all the colors of the rainbow, and giggling hysterically._

_They continued their paint fight with the little paint they had left for almost half an hour, until Lori's mom came outside to check on them._

_Upon seeing the pair, she smiled at them and cried, "Kodak moment!" She ran inside and came back out quickly, with a Polaroid camera in hand. She put the camera to her eye and aiming it at the two, cried "Smile!"_

Rubbing his wet hair with a towel, Tristan smiled at the photo on his cabinet, remembering back to the day the photo had been taken. Good times…

He had promised to write her every day, the day he left. For a boy who, at the time, could not even write his own name, this was an enormous challenge to attempt. He couldn't write to her, he soon realized, but he still thought of her every day.

Eventually, though he did learn to write, and he did write to Lori. Many times, in fact.

Over 10 years went past, and Tristan hardly thought of Lori, though he always wrote her a Christmas card. Lately though, he'd been thinking about her more and more. He didn't no why, he just did.

Tristan always wanted to send her the letters he wrote. But he never did. His father hadn't wanted him to when he was young, and now, he doubted that he even had her address anymore. So there the letters sat, in a shoebox, at the bottom of his wardrobe.

Besides, even if he could find her now- would she remember him? Would she even care?

Banishing these thoughts from his head, Tristan finished drying himself off and dressed quickly, ready for school.

Passing by his desk, something caught his eye. The audition piece. He picked it up and put it in his bag, just so he could revise it before his audition, that day.

Walking through the mansion, he grabbed his keys from the kitchen bench and walked out to his car.

* * *

'You'd think with such a tidy locker it would be easier to find things" Rory grumbled to herself, whilst rummaging through her locker.

A shrill squeal from the other end of the hall caused her to drop all the books she was holding, strewing them across the floor.

Groaning, she bent down to pick them up. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a scrap piece of paper that had fallen out of an unfamiliar binder.

"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice –Samuel Johnson" she read aloud, reading the neat cursive letters on the paper.

Puzzled, she glanced over at the binder it had fallen out of. In the same handwriting, _Tristan Janlen DuGrey_ and _Drama _were printed neatly in the each corner.

Pocketing the piece of paper, she finished picking up her books and placed them back in her locker.

Finally finding her tattered copy of _The Great Gatsby_, she took it out, and gently shut the locker door.

Opting to go outside for lunch today, she headed out towards the courtyard, only to be stopped by a frazzled looking teacher. "Rory Gilmore, correct?" she asked, glancing at her clipboard.

Cautiously, Rory replied, "Uh, yes, that's me"

"You're late." She stated suddenly, straightening herself out.

Slightly unsettled by the woman, she questioned, "For what?"

Huffing, the teacher threw her hands in the air, " 'For what?' she asks!! Your _audition!_" she cried

Figuring there must be a misunderstanding, Rory explained calmly, "There must be some misunderstanding, Miss. I'm not auditioning for anything."

Huffing once again, she handed her clipboard to Rory, pointing to the middle of a long list of names. Sure enough, 'Rory Gilmore' was printed right there.

Instantly, Rory recognized the handwriting. _'I'll kill you for this, Tristan'_

Slowly counting to 10 in her head, she smiled as pleasantly as she could at the teacher. "The thing is," she tried to explain, "I didn't put my name on that list. It was someone el-"

"I don't care _who_ put your name on this list, young lady." she cut in, "The fact of the matter is, it _is_ there, you _will_ audition, unless you wish to spend today after school in detention! _AND_ at present moment, you _are _keeping everyone waiting." With this, she turned on her heel and sauntered away towards the auditorium.

When Rory didn't follow, she turned around and shrieked, "Well come on!!"

Fuming, Rory stalked along behind the bossy woman.

* * *

"Ah, Miss Gilmore!!" Mr. O'Donnell cried from his desk set up in front of the stage. "How kind of you to _finally_ bless us with your presence! But I shall forgive you this once- but only because of the fact that you, very wisely: I might add, decided to audition!" As usual, without letting her reply he carried on, looking at his papers, "I see you are trying for the part of _Wendy_… with Mr. DuGrey as your Peter Pan? Well then- head on down to back stage and they will set you up."

Sulking, Rory walked to the backstage section of the stage. She was greeted by a girl in Chilton uniform, who instructed her to sit.

"I'm Zoë." She introduced herself, sticking out her hand.

Rory shook her hand and replied, "Rory Gilmore."

Smiling, she picked up several things from a table next to her. "You're doing scene 5? Great scene." She commented. "Do you know your lines?"

Rory shook her head. "None. I didn't even know I was auditioning up until 10 minutes ago."

Zoë chuckled. "Don't worry. You'll be fine. You hardly have to say anything!" Handing Rory a piece of paper, she added, "Here's a copy of your scene. You'll catch on pretty quickly."

Smiling gratefully at Zoë, she skimmed the page in front of her, smiling mischievously when she got to the end.

"GILMORE, RORY! DUGREY, TRISTAN!!" Mr. O'Donnell yelled from outside.

Getting up from her chair, Zoë handed Rory a very large, sharp pin. "You'll be needing this." She smiled knowingly.

Rory beamed. _'Oh sweet, sweet revenge'_ "Thanks for your help, Zoë!" She yelled over her shoulder as she walked out onto stage.

Standing confidently on the stage, smirking, Tristan awaited Rory's presence.

Seeing her silhouette in the wings, he smirked to himself. Signing her up for this was sure to piss her off.

But as soon as she appeared in the light, his smirk faltered. She was smiling about the situation? At her own free will?

"Start when ready." Mr. O'Donnell called.

Without even making eye contact with Tristan, Rory moved to her position. Although unsettled by her mood, he did the same.

As soon as he saw she was ready, he began. Embarrassed as he was about it, he pretended to cry.

Rory looked up, "Boy. Why are you crying?"

Tristan jumped up, "You can fly?" she questioned. "What is your name?"

"What is _your_ name?" he asked

"Wendy Moira.. er… Angela Darling" she answered, faltering slightly

_'She's doing an alright job' _"Peter Pan." He replied defiantly, trying not to be outshone by her.

"Where do you live?"

"Second to the right and then straight on till morning!" He replied, pointing towards a pretend window.

Obviously struggling to remember her lines, Rory paused. "Uh… oh. They put that on the letters?"

"Don't get any letters" He answered easily, sitting back down.

"But your mother gets letters"

"Don't have a mother."

"No wonder you were crying"

"I wasn't crying about mothers! I was crying because I can't get this shadow to stick!" he shouted, pulling at the air beside him, as though pulling his shadow. "And I wasn't crying!"

Rory sat beside him, her maniac smile back once again. "I could sew it on for you?" She said, pulling a rather large needle out of her pocket.

Tristan finally understood.

His eyes widened as she took the needle as proceeded to, literally, stab both his big toes. "Owwww!" he cried out in pain, but Rory acted as though she had done nothing wrong but then pretended to be sewing on his shadow.

"Cut!!" Mr. O'Donnell yelled from his desk. "That's enough, thank you very much. Although I must say, Miss Gilmore, that was a very realistic interpretation of the sewing! I almost thought you _were _sewing Mr. DuGrey!" he added with a chuckle, which he stopped abruptly. "You two may go now. The cast list will be up next Friday. Mr. DuGrey, excellent performance." He stated, before turning back to his papers.

Without so much as a word to Tristan, Rory went to go backstage. "Wait up, Mary!" Tristan cried from his sitting position.

Standing up, and limping towards her, he asked, "And may I ask what that was all about?"

Smiling sweetly, Rory simply said, "Just desserts." before turning back around and walking away from him.


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Warner Bros blah blah

* * *

Rory's eyes frantically searched the sheet for her name, desperate _not_ to see it. It was kinda funny, that she was so desperate _not_ to be accepted into the play.

Finally, Friday had arrived, and Rory had rushed to the Drama noticeboard as soon as she had a chance. Unfortunately, due to teachers wanting to talk to her after class and most of her classes being over the other side of the school, 'as soon as she had a chance' was not until lunchtime.

"Carla Thompson, Wendy..." She mumbled to herself, scanning the list, very relieved it wasn't her, "Tristan DuGrey, Peter Pan- ha! Trust..." She rambled bitterly

She kept searching the list, but couldn't see her name anywhere. Relived, she went to walk away, when a second piece of paper caught her eye.

Her eyes widened. "LOST BOY!?" she cried, "I'm a _lost boy!?_"

People hanging around the corridor turned to stare at her. Embarrassed at her outburst, she blushed, and went back to scanning paper.

SLIGHTLY... LORELAI L GILMORE

Noting she was not the only female amongst the lost 'boy' cast, she went to the short note at the bottom.

_Compulsory meeting for all cast members on Tuesday at Lunchtime in the Drama Studio. Scripts and rehearsal timetables will be given then. _

Rory groaned and hit her head against the cold glass of the noticeboard. She began trying to think of an excuse she could use to get out of the play..._ 'Extreme Chicken Pox? A rare and deadly tropical disease that would last exactly the time span of the rehearsals? An allergy to pork?' _

Figuring that Lorelai would surely come up with something, she lifted her head off the glass and walked to the cafeteria. Upon getting there, she found an empty table and sat down, pulling out her Discman and novel from her book bag, and emersed herself in 'Emma'.

Rory let out a breath of relief as the bell for the end of her final class went. _Finally_, it was the weekend!

She shuffled out of the classroom and got to her locker. Spinning her combination, she hit her locker, waiting for it to open, but it didn't.

"Well isn't it just my lucky day." She grumbled. Too tired and frustrated to try again, she turned around and lent against her locker, closing her eyes.

"Daydreaming about me naked?" an arrogant voice snapped her out of her reverie, startling her.

Opening her eyes, she was met with the person she wanted to see least. "God, Tristan. You shouldn't scare people like that!" she scolded

He smirked, leaning against the locker next to hers. "So you don't deny it? Not that I can blame you for thinking about it..."

Rory rolled her eyes, unamused. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Why, Mary? Want to be _somewhere_ with me?"

"No, actually Tristan." She spat, bitterly, "I don't want _anything_ to do with you. How could you sign me up for the auditions? You _knew _I didn't want to. Did the thought that you might- oh, I don't know- _ask me_, ever cross your simple mind?"

Tristan sighed, knowing it was going to have had to come back to him sooner or later. Only problem was, he didn't really know _why_ he had signed her up in the first place. He just liked to her annoy her and this evidently did a very good job. But somehow, now that he'd done it, it didn't seem as satisfying as he'd imagined.

"I see you're not thrilled at the prospect of being a boy for the next few months?"

"Give the boy a gold star!" Turning back to her locker, she spun the combination once again and punched the center with all the force she could muster. It made a big THUD noise, causing some people to stare, and then amazingly, it popped open.

Rory allowed herself a small smile at her handy work, before beginning to pack the books she'd need for the weekend into her bag.

Feeling slightly hurt by her flat-out rejection and not even being willing to banter with him, he decided it was best for him to leave. "Look, as much as I love this whole Hallmark moment we're having here, I gotta bounce." He stood up straight and walked a couple metres, before turning around and calling, "Call me." And winking.

Infuriated, Rory continued packing away her books. _'He makes it seem like HE'S the victim. Like I'M the one who's done something wrong. Like I should feel privileged to talk to him. Why, if I could-'_

She was snapped out of her thoughts once again but the shrill sound of her cell ringing. "Does no-one want to let me think today!?" She grumbled aloud.

Digging it out of her bag, she looked at the caller ID. 'YOUR LOVING AND CARING BOYFRIEND' flashed on the screen, another victim of Lorelai's altered caller ids.

Opening it, she pressed the accept button. "Hello?"

"Hey Ror. How are you doing?" Dean's voice rang out through the phone.

Rory sighed. "Been better. And yourself?"

"I'm fine. Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Yeah. I've got Friday night dinner and my grandparents', remember?"

"Oh, right. I was just thinking that maybe we could into Hartford and catch a movie or something." He explained, "Maybe we could go afterwards?"

"Sure..." Rory trailed off, her mind elsewhere.

"Do you want me to pick you up from your grandparents' or your place?" he asked

"Huh?" she replied, not quite listening

"Rory? Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you alright?" He sounded concerned

"Me? Oh yeah. Just fine. Peachy. Just _dandy_, you know?"

Dean chuckled nervously. "Chilton getting you down?"

"Yeah. I guess you _could_ say that."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Oh, uh, okay then. So, about tonight- I was thinking maybe Dodgeball at-"

"You know what bugs me?" She interrupted suddenly

"When Luke won't give you and your Mom coffee?" he replied, trying to be funny.

Ignoring him, she went on. "People making decisions for you. They just decide to do things that involve you without even the slightest consultation. _That_ bugs me."

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were so against Dodgeball. If you want we can just go out another night." He sounded offended

"Oh no! I didn't mean you! It's just... oh, don't worry. Dodgeball sounds great." She reassured him quietly, feeling guilty for taking her anger out on him.

"Um, okay then. How about I pick you up at 8 from your place?" he asked, uncertainly

"Sure. See you then."

"Bye Ror."

Snapping her cell shut, she put it back in her bag. She finished packing her bag and shut her locker, heading out towards the bus stop.

* * *

"Sorry I was so distracted tonight." Rory apologized as Dean dropped her off at the front door, "Just school work and everything, you know?"

Dean smiled reassuringly. "Don't sweat it. We'll go out again another time- maybe when your exams have finished."

Not bothering to point out that, at Chilton, exams _never_ finished, she just smiled and nodded.

Suddenly noticing that Rory was shivering from the cold he said, "I guess we should call it a night. Coming home anytime past 11 is bound to worry Lorelai." Looking at his watch, he added smiling, "So you have exactly 1 more minute of Lorelai-stress-free time."

Rory's eyes widened and she quickly leant up to give Dean a quick peck on the cheek. She mumbled her thanks and goodbyes and rummaged around in her bag for her keys. Upon finding them, she silently slid them into the keyhole and turned the doorknob, going inside and closing the door behind her.

Dean stood outside, alone, and feeling slightly rejected by his girlfriend. "Oh well," he whispered to himself, "She had other things on her mind."

* * *

A few kilometres away, that _other thing_ stumbled in his bedroom door, after deciding the party he had been at had been totally lamecore, and to head on home for an uncharacteristic early night alone.

Walking over to his dresser, he grabbed a pair of boxers and quickly stripped off his shirt and pants and put the boxers on.

Yawning, he walked towards his bed, but he slipped on a magazine that had been vicariously placed on the floor and fell flat on his back, feeling a pain go throughout his back.

Wincing, he stood himself back up and walked back to his dresser. Turning around, he looked at his lower back in the mirror, but could not see any damage there yet. Slightly relieved, he continued to look at his back.

His gaze drifted towards the back of his left shoulder, where two diagonal pink lines were scarred into his skin. He stared at it for a minute, before deciding to go back to bed.

Careful on his way across the room this time, he made it to his bed, and climbed in.

Pulling the doona up to his chin, he closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.

_"I don't like your pigtails!" 4-year old Dustin Hamilton taunted, pulling Lori's pigtail. "And, you don't have a Daddy!"_

_"Yes I do..." she mumbled_

_"Then why didn't he come to Daddy Day?" he questioned smugly, his hands on his hips_

_Lori hung her head, not knowing what to say, her bright blue eyes welling up with tears._

_"MY Daddy came." Dustin boasted. "And everyone liked MY Daddy."_

_Lori still didn't say anything, tears running down her cheeks._

_"I didn't like your Daddy!" an angry voice yelled from behind Dustin._

_Lori and Dustin looked up to see TJ standing there, a very angry look on his face, with his arms crossed across his chest. "I thought he was MEAN!" he shouted, "Just like you, you big fat bully! Leave Lori alone!"_

_"Why should I?" he shouted back_

_"Because she's my very bestest friend!" he announced walking over to Lori, who watched amazed at the two boys._

_"Well I don't care! I think you're a stupid head and I don't like you!" Dustin shouted to TJ._

_"I don't like you neither!" TJ yelled back._

_Dustin scrunched up his face in anger and walked over to TJ. He held up both his hands, and then pushed TJ, with all his mite._

_TJ stumbled backwards for a moment, before he fell into the rosebush behind him._

_Lori screamed and Dustin froze, scared at what he had done._

_The teachers soon came rushing out to the playground to see why Lori was screaming, to find TJ lying in the bush, trying his best not to cry._

_They got him out as quickly as they could, and Lori ran over to him and gave him a big hug, but TJ just scrunched up his eyes in pain._

_"On my back.." he whispered._

_Lori walked around him to see his t-shirt ripped at the back of his shoulder and quickly showed her teacher._

_The teacher gasped, and did her best to take off TJ's t-shirt without hurting him and examined his back._

_Two deep diagonal gashes were cut into TJ's back, bleeding heavily, as TJ stood there shaking._

_The teacher picked him up and carried him in her arms to the first aid kit inside, leaving the other teacher to deal with Dustin. Lori followed them inside silently "You're being a very brave boy, T." she cajoled, as she put disinfectant on his wounds._

_TJ winced at the pain and Lori watched quietly. She looked at the two cuts on his back before taking a seat in front of him._

_"Guess what?" she whispered to him_

_"What?" he whispered back_

_"You have two cuts on your back and there's two of us" She explained_

_"Hey, that's cool!" he smiled, but quickly stopped as the teacher put more medicine on him._

_"And... um, there's two letters in TJ" she pointed out_

_"Yeah!" TJ smiled again, "and you have two eyes!"_

_"And there's only two days we don't come to kinder!"_

_The teacher smiled at the pair. "Guess what else, T? Only two more seconds till I finish cleaning you up!" she said, just doing the final touches to his bandage, and putting his spare t-shirt back on him, before leaving them._

_"Two naptimes everyday..."_

_The pair continued to chatter happily about the number 2 for the rest of the afternoon, as they both decided their new lucky number._

* * *

AN Thanks so much for your support the amount of reviews ive been getting have been awesome- please keep up the good work and ill try my best to update often!!

* * *


	6. Chapter Five

_AN: For those of you who have seen the Peter Pan movie (with Jason Issacs and Jeremy Sumpter), Slightly is the one who get adopted at the end by the aunt, and is pretty much the main lost boy._

'_Italics' indicate thoughts. _

"Okay then! Let's start with introductions, shall we?? I'd like get to know you all on a first name basis, so we'll go around the circle and we'll all say our names and the characters we're playing, okay!? Great!?"

Lorelai had refused to come up with an excuse for Rory to get out of doing the play. She said it would be a great experience for Rory to get out there a bit more, and it would also look great on her Harvard application.

So here she was, looking around. The entire cast was sitting in an enormous circle on the stage, at their first ever rehearsal. It consisted mainly of the drama fanatics, with a couple others, who she assumed were there to get extra-credit.

"How about I start? Well, my name is Mr. O'Donnell, and I'm the co-director! Our other director will be here later on to help with the rehearsal! Great! Now you." He exclaimed, pointing to the girl next to him.

"I'm Kim Charlesworth, and I'm a lost girl!" She announced, smiling brightly.

"_Boy" _Mr. O'Donnell corrected.

"No." she said, shaking her head. "I'm a girl!"

"But you're a lost _boy_!" he insisted

She stopped smiling and glared at him. "_No._ I'm a _girl._"

"Yes. But you are now a _boy_"

"Oh my gosh! No I'm not!" she cried hysterically, standing up and running off the stage.

Rory watched the scene unfold, slightly apprehensively. She was the only other female lost boy/girl who had a speaking role, and by the looks of it, she was now the only one.

"Whatever. You!" Mr. O'Donnell struck again, pointing to the boy who had been sitting next to Sandra.

"Hi Everybody. I'm Allister and I'm playing Smee."

It continued like this for about 5 minutes, until it came to Tristan, who evidently was not listening to a word anyone had said, and was in the middle of asking the girl sitting next to him what she was doing Saturday night.

"So I was thinking maybe-"

"Ahem." Mr. O'Donnell interrupted.

Tristan just ignored Mr. Thomas and kept talking, "maybe we could-"

"AHEM!" He coughed again, very loudly.

Tristan turned his head in annoyance, at Mr. O'Donnell. "Yes?" he finally paid attention

"Mr. DuGrey, I hope you do realize how much is riding on this performance for you. You would do well to _pay attention._ Now, pray tell the group your first name and character"

"Tristan. Peter." He said, showing only the slightest sign on guilt. However, he did manage not to turn back to the girl

A few more minutes later, and it was Rory's turn.

"I'm Rory Gilmore and I'm playing Slightly."

"I do not remember your name being _Rory_ earlier this year, Miss Gilmore." Mr. O'Donnell questioned

"Well, my name is really Lorelai."

"Then why didn't you say so? Do you think it's _funny _to say something is your name when it isn't?" he interrogated

"No, it's just that most people call me-"

"I don't want to hear it Lori-lai!" He cried before mumbling to himself something about the youth of today and pointing to the girl next to Rory.

How dare he just go off at her like that! _'Why is he doing this anyway? Can't he just call us by out last names? He can't even say Lorelai properly. Stupid little…'_

* * *

"Great news! I know what happened to Cinderella. She defeated the pirates. There was stabbing, slicing, torture, bleeding and they lived happily ever after."

"Well that's a relief I must say." Rory said, yawning.

"I have greater news! I have brought you she that told a Cinderella. She is to tell us stories! She is…"

"Dead" she finished

"Oh just stop there _please_" Mr. Thomas, the other director, cried out. "What _is_ going on!? Where.. is… the… CHEMISTRY!? You two are the greatest of friends! You have grown up together! I need to see this, okay!? Please, just try to _act_ like you've met each other before. From the top!"

Rory and Tristan repeated the scene yet again. Tristan was here and there evidently doing his best to bring the character alive, but Rory was still stubborn in changing her attitude towards him.

"Cut! Again!" Mr. Thomas called. "This is simply just not working. You." He said, pointing to Rory. "What is your name?"

Not wanting a repeat of earlier, she just said Lorelai.

"Well Lorelai, are you ill? Is there really a valid reason behind your total lack of effort?"

Rory quickly seized the opportunity to get out of practice for the day. "Uh, yeah. I've got a bit of a… um.. a _migraine_."

Mr. Thomas raised his eyebrow, uncertainly. "Very well then. Go home if you want. But next rehearsal I want to be able to _feel_ the chemistry between you and Dristan, okay!?"

"Tristan." He corrected

"Whatever." He dismissed

Rory fought the urge to roll her eyes and nodded, jogging off the stage.

* * *

"Margarita or Capriciosa?" Lorelai put her hand over the receiver of the phone and asked Rory.

"Both" she replied.

"Okay so that's 2 margarita 2 capriciosa. Oooh, ooh and some cheese bread too, okay? And those little sauce things. Thanks buddy."

Lorelai hung up the phone and turned to Rory. "Soooo, I was thinking maybe a Monty Python movie night this Friday after dinner? A little Holy Grail, Meaning of Life…"

Rory was about to reply when the doorbell rang.

"Wow, that was fast!" Lorelai smiled.

"I'll get it!" Rory jumped up from her seat and walked as fast as she could (because Gilmores don't run) to the front door.

But when she opened the door, it wasn't the pizza boy.

"Oh. It's _you_." she said in distaste

"Yes Mary- it is I!" he declared, "The very man who makes you weak at the knees- who makes you swoon with desire! The guy who-"

"What do you want Tristan?" Rory cut in, wanting to know exactly _why_ the Spawn of Satan was standing on her doorstep.

"I think we both know the answer to that, Mary." Tristan said, suggestively winking at her.

Rory rolled her eyes.

"How's your migraine?"

"Fine." She dismissed bluntly.

Tristan, realizing she wasn't in a fantastic mood, cut to the chase. "You still have my books.", He stated simply

"Your books?" Rory repeated, puzzled

"My drama books." He explained

"No I don't"

"Uh- yes Mary- you do. You never gave them back."

Rory looked doubtful at his explanation and said, "You drove _half an hour_ to here- _just_ to get your textbooks back? When we don't even have Drama this week and you could have got them at school tomorrow?"

"It would seem that way- yes."

"Well I don't have them. They're in my locker at school" Rory stated simply.

Tristan nodded, and seemingly unfazed, continued to stand in the same spot. "Go home, Tristan." Rory said, pointing to the car behind him.

Tristan pretended to think about it for a moment, and then simply shook his head. "So Mary- are you going to invite me inside?"

"No"

"Why not?"

"Because you're…" she began, searching for the right word, "Tristan."

"What? Afraid you won't be able to control yourself, Mary?"

"GO HOME!"

'You won't even let me in?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I'll ask you once more Tristan- why are you here?"

"That isn't very hospitable, you know, Mary." '_Just ask her, you chicken'_

Rory, very unamused by Tristan, turned and began to walk towards the front door.

"Wait, Rory"

At the use of her first name, Rory slowly spun around.

Tristan paced nervously back and forth, wringing his hands. He stopped halfway and turned to Rory. "Do you know who my Step-Grandmother is?"

Rory was puzzled at Tristan's sudden frantic un-him-like behavior, and merely shrugged, "No?"

"Margaret Delarou." He stated, still frantic.

Rory shrugged, clearly not seeing why Tristan would think she knew any of his relatives, let alone his step-relatives.

"Margaret Delarou. You know? The actress!" He cried, his hands in the air.

Rory's jaw dropped. "Wait. You mean to say that _your_ Step-Grandmother is _the_ Maggie Delarou?"

Tristan said nothing but looked at her very seriously.

"Wow." Rory said, smiling "Tristan DuGrey's grandmother is a day-time TV actress?"

Tristan ignored Rory's comment and continued. "So you do realize what kind of strife I'll be in if I fail Drama, don't you?"

Rory very quickly remembered why she wasn't talking to Tristan and headed for the door. "Just let me finish!" he cried out

Rory turned around to face him, arms crossed across her chest and sighed, annoyed. "What do you want, Tristan?"

"Look! I'm sorry for putting you on the auditions list! Okay?"

"No, Tristan, it's not okay. Could you not have even asked me!?"

"I said I was sorry! But God, Rory, why do you have to be so uptight about it? At least 250 people tried out for the play and only 50 got in! You should feel privileged!"

"You think I _want _it?" She spat, glaring at him.

"Why don't you just pull out then, huh? It would be that easy." He questioned, knowing fully well that it wasn't.

Rory huffed, crossing her arms across her chest.

Tristan smirked. "What was that? I can't hear you Mary."

Rory rolled her eyes. "What has any of this got to do with me Tristan? Did you really come all the way over here _just_ to tell me who your grandma was?"

'_Come on Tristan. Just tell her.' _"I need your help." He finally got out.

"My _help_?" Rory asked, slightly shocked, "What could I help you with that anyone else couldn't twice as well?"

Tristan sighed. She wasn't really making this very easy. "As hard as it may be for you to believe, I really want to do well in this play, Rory."

"You didn't seem to anxious to make a good impression today in introductions."

"Please Rory, I can't fail drama. I just… _cant_"

Rory stood in her place silently, waiting for him to go on.

"You heard Mr. Thomas back there. We acted like we'd never even met each other."

"What are you suggesting?" she asked, uncertainly

"Jee, do I really have to spell it out for you?"

Rory merely raised her eyebrows in reply

"I want us to be friends, Rory."

She was shocked. Of all the things she expected him to say, this was not one of them. Tristan DuGrey, wanting to be _friends. _

"But… Why?"

Tristan let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in and chuckled. "You really don't want to make this easy for me, do you?"

She said nothing.

"Come on, Rory. Truce?" He offered his hand for her to shake.

"So that's why you came over?" she asked, avoiding his handshake

He nodded. She looked in his eyes for something to show that this was all some elaborate prank but she saw nothing but sincerity.

"Come on. I'll even try to learn your _real_ name." He offered, smiling. Not smirking, smiling.

Rory stood for a moment in thought, but finally gave in. "Fine." She said, shaking his hand. "But no more taunting me or making out with you flavor of the week, or whatever you call it, in front of my locker anymore!"

Tristan smirked. "So you did notice?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Now go home!" she said, laughing.

Tristan chuckled too. "Fine, I'll leave now. Seeya later, friend."

Rory smiled. Who would have thought? Tristan DuGrey, civil. "Goodbye Tristan."

Tristan walked down the stairs of the porch down to his car. Hopping in, he reversed and drove down the street.

Rory watched his car drive away, and another little red car turn the corner onto her street, making its way up and parking in the driveway.

At first Rory was puzzled, but quickly realized it was her dinner.

"So," Lorelai started, a mouth full of pizza. "What took you so long out there? Having a bit of a tête-à-tête with the new pizza boy?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Was he a friend of yours?" she asked again

Rory smiled. "Yeah… something like that."

* * *

_Please RR_


	7. Chapter Six

_AN HUGE THANKYOU! To my beta ThoughtsPen, who I know I annoy endlessly about every little thing but I really appreciate all her help with this story. This is my baby, but without her itd be hungry. Like, starving. Lol anyway ON WITH THE STORY!_

* * *

Returning to her locker, after a _painfully_ long algebra lesson, in a room with no air-conditioning, Rory was met by a curious sight. Tristan DuGrey, at her locker. _Alone._ Meaning, without flavor of the week. Intrigued, Rory walked faster. But not much faster.

"Hello _friend._" He greeted contentedly.

"Uh… hello Tristan."

"How are you doing, friend?"

"Fine." She replied, civilly.

"So friend, how was class?"

Okay, so the friend thing was getting a little annoying. "Hellish." She replied, packing her books away.

"And what made it so hellish?" Wait for it… "Friend?"

"Okay." She snapped, "The whole 'friend' thing is getting annoying now."

Tristan smirked. "Can I call you Mary again then?"

"I thought you were going to try to learn my name." She pointed out.

He sighed dramatically and slumped against the lockers, shrugging his shoulders.

Silence.

"Whoa. What's that, Mary?" He smirked, pointing to the encyclopedia-sized binder Rory was putting into her bag. "That looks thick enough to almost describe your undying love and desire for me. Taking it home to add to it?" he added

"As much as I hate to break your heart, _Bible _Boy, this… is my math homework."

He smirked again and gave her the 'ha-ha' look.

"Hey, we're not all rich enough to pay the advanced math kids to do our algebra homework." She teased.

"Are you implying that I can't just get them to do it with my good looks and charisma?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes I am."

"Well, Miss Gilmore I am rather offended. But hey, you gotta cut me some slack. I'm not all rich boy." He defended

"Oh yeah?" Rory looked at him, doubt filling her eyes.

"Yeah," he said confidently, "This one time, I left my keys in the car, and I was locked out of the house. I was homeless for like, 10 minutes!"

"Really?" she asked, smiling distractedly.

"Nah." He laughed, "I really just rang the doorbell and the maid let me back in."

Rory laughed too, softly.

Tristan noticed she wasn't looking quite herself, "You alright?" he asked

"Yeah I'm fine. Long class." She dismissed. "Why?"

He shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing. You just look a bit flustered. Then again, it could just be my presence." He leered, winking.

Rory rolled her eyes. "I am _not_ flustered, thank you very much. It must just be the heat. I haven't had a drink in a while."

"Speaking of which, you coming to rehearsals later?"

"How is that a 'speaking of which'?" She questioned.

"How is it not?"

"Rehearsal later bares no resemblance to whether I've dranken or not."

"I've _drunk_."

"Good for you." She retorted, not seeing why he'd think she cared.

Tristan chuckled. "No, I mean you said I've _dranken_ and you were supposed to say I've… don't worry." He shook his head. "So, you coming?"

"Not unless I can help it."

A silence lapsed between the two, and Rory grabbed a scrap of paper and pen out of her locker, scribbled something on it, folded it, and handed it to Tristan.

"Here."

"What is it?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"A description of my undying love and desire for you." She said it, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. Taking the books she needed for her next class, she closed the door of her locker, and walked away, leaving Tristan still standing there, piece of paper in hand.

Intrigued, he unfolded the paper to be met with only two words…

'Totally nonexistent'

* * *

"_Hello Tink."_

"_Hello Tink."_

Tristan watched the rehearsal from offstage, waiting for his que. He couldn't help but look at Rory for a moment though and smile. Somehow, he decided, making a fool out of himself at her house the other day had been worth it, because she didn't hate him quite so much anymore.

"_Any more news of Cinderella?" _

It wasn't like he _liked _her. He'd just never met a girl like her before. Someone _so_ immune to his charm and wealth. And _that_ fascinated him.

"_Now Tinkerbell was not all bad; sometime's she was all good. But fairies are so small they only have room for one feeling at a time."_

He looked over to her, where she was standing with the other lost 'boys'. She looked even more flustered than she had before.

"_Tink says the bird's called a...'Wendy.' And Peter wants us to-"_

"-_shoot it down."_

She just stood there, staring off into space. Why wasn't she saying her line?

"Lori-lai!" Mr. O'Donnell snapped impatiently, "This is _your_ line. '_Well, we have our orders. Shoot the Wendy bird_.'"

Still, she said nothing.

"Go on!" He called.

And then she fainted.

* * *

"_Why won't you just tell meeeeee?" Lori whined _

"_Because I told you it's a surprise!" TJ insisted "__But… You can guess if you __want_

_It was the end of the day and Lori and TJ were sitting at the coloring table with their bags, ready to go home. TJ had told Lori that morning that there was a surprise about who was picking them up and naturally, being a Gilmore, she had nagged him all day to try and find out who it was, but TJ would not relent._

"_Ok!" She said smiling, "Your Daddy?"_

_He shook his head quickly, "Nope. He's at czecho-souvlaki or something"_

_Lori nodded, "Your Mommy?"_

_He shook his head again "Nope. She's at czecho-souvlaki too. But she wouldn't be a very good surprise anyway, would she?"_

_Lori shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought, "Is it… Santa?" she said, giggling_

_TJ shook his head again, "Not even close"_

_The big double doors behind TJ opened, and a tall, dark-haired boy, dressed in a high-school uniform stepped through the doors._

"_Uncle Mikey!!" Lori cried, delightedly._

"_Yep!" TJ smiled, clapping his hands, "My Uncle Mikey's coming to pick us up."_

_Ignoring TJ, Lori got up from her chair and ran as fast as she could to the boy and wrapped her arms around his leg._

_The boy stumbled back a bit, surprised, but grinned widely. "Heya Lor. How are you doing?"_

"_Super!" she smiled, as he lifted her up into his arms._

"_Hey!" TJ turned around, frowning, still at his seat back at the table, "You cheated!! You saw him!"_

"_Hey T!" Mikey grinned at TJ, and soon TJ was smiling back, "Don't I even get a hello from my favorite nephew?"_

_TJ got up from his chair and walked over to Mikey, hugging him in a strangely masculine way for a 4-year old, and looked up at his face, "Hi Uncle Mikey."_

_Much to her protests, he put Lori back on the ground next to TJ, and asked "So you guys ready to go yet?"_

_They nodded in unison, and Mikey chuckled at them, gesturing for them to follow him out the doors. It was very windy outside and the double doors shut with a-_

"Rory."

A half-conscious Rory pondered over this for a moment. Doors shouldn't say her name… should they?

"Rory." There it was again!! Groggily, she gradually opened her eyes. Around her was a circle of people all looking down at her, curiously.

This made her wake up pretty quickly. "What happened?" she asked, looking around.

"-fainted-"

"-thought you died-"

"-just collapsed-"

"-must be pregnant-"

"-attention seeker-"

"-who's the father-"

Everyone began to talk at once, giving Rory a headache. Finally, one voice dominated over them all.

"Now, now everybody, there's no need for such _fuss_. Lori-lai is _obviously_ just dehydrated. She'll just have to go home and rest. _No_ big deal" Mr. O'Donnell explained, sounding very bored. Clapping his hands, he continued, "BACK TO YOUR PLACES, EVERYONE!"

Slowly, almost everyone retreated from Rory, leaving her still sitting on the floor, with only a few people remaining. One of those, being Tristan.

Once everyone else had gone, he kneeled down next to her and handed her a bottle of water, instructing her to drink.

"Now Mary, we've talked about this before." He began, "How many times do I have to tell you? If you keep looking at –gorgeous- me, you will eventually get so overwhelmed by my incredible handsomeness, you're gonna faint. But you just don't listen." He joked, mockingly shaking his head.

Still feeling a bit out of it, and deep in thought about her dream, she just smiled at him, shrugging her shoulders.

"Tyson!! We're waiittttinnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg foooooooooorrrrrr yoooooooooooooooooouuuuuu!!" Mr. Thomas called in a sing-song-y voice to Tristan.

Tristan rolled his eyes. He put his hand on Rory's shoulder, comfortingly. "You gonna be alright?" he asked.

"Yeah." Tristan nodded and walked back to his place on the stage. Eventually, Rory got back up too, walking backstage to get her stuff so she could go home.

Mr. Thomas stood at the front of the stage. "Ready everyone? And ACTION!"

* * *

_AN _I'm SO sorry this took me so long to update!! I've just been away and blah and blah and you don't really care do you? Anyway I promise my next update will be much sooner!! I was a little disappointed with the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter but I did kinda screw it up so fair enough I hope this one's better!! Also, thank you to flossie1 whose great review totally made my day. :)


	8. Chapter Seven

AN: FINALLY! AN UPDATE! Yes, I know I'm totally unreliable but I'm trying my hardest with school and everything

Enjoy and please R/R! '

* * *

_Pulling up at the inn, Mikey stopped the car. "Okay guys. We're here." Opening Lori's door, he helped her down from her seat and adjusted her bag._

_She thanked him for taking her home and hugged him. She waved to TJ, who had gotten himself down too. "Bye TJ."_

"_Seeya Lori!"_

_She turned around and began to walk away. "Oh, wait Lor! I almost forgot!" Mikey cried out. "Look what I got for you." he smiled playfully and pulled out a piece of folded paper from his pocket._

_She ran back and took it from him. "What is it?" Lori's face lit up with excitement as she began to unfold the paper._

_On it, was drawn a cartoon image of herself and TJ smiling widely. At the bottom, he had written a note, and signed it._

"_Wow!" She cried, delighted. "This is sooo cool, Uncle Mikey! But what does this writing say?"_

"_Not telling." He grinned. "You'll have to keep it until you're old enough to read!"_

"_Where's my picture Uncle Mikey?" TJ whined_

"_I'm sure Lori will share that one with you."_

_As soon as he had said this, Lori quickly held the paper out of TJ's reach. "Nah uh." She said, shaking her head. "This is my one!" TJ put his hands on his hips stubbornly. "But I guess you can see it." She gave in._

_TJ grinned triumphantly as he took the paper from her hands. "I like this picture, Uncle Mikey." He announced in approval._

_Mikey chuckled. "I'm glad."_

_TJ handed the picture back to Lori. "I think me and TJ better get going." He said, "We're already late back home after that stop at McDonalds." He smiled mischievously and ruffled TJ's hair._

"_Bye Lori." TJ waved._

"_Seeya!" Lori grinned and watched them as they got into the car and drove back the direction the came._

Rory awoke suddenly and bolted upright. She had to find that picture.

Franticly, she jumped out of her bed and ran towards her closet. At the bottom, was a large box, with 'Rory' scrawled on the outside.

Inside of it, were some of Rory's toys and drawings, and other little things she played with when they lived at the inn. Carefully searching through it, she pulled out the stack of papers.

Sitting there, on top of the pile, was the picture. Herself and TJ, smiling brightly. For a moment, Rory sat still in disbelief, before finally coming to her senses. She picked it up and walked back over to her bed, looking at the bottom of the page.

Taking her clothes from beside her bed, she got dressed, thinking about what Mikey had signed it with. "'Lori Tris, Friends Forever. Love you both- Uncle Mikey" she read aloud, once again. '_Lori Tris'_ She thought, 'Tris? As in _Tristan?_'

"Rory! Wake up! Coffee's ready!" Lorelai said in a sing-song, walking in through the door.

Not wanting Lorelai to see the picture, she quickly shoved it into her bag with all the other stuff she took to rehearsals. She'd finish looking at it later.

Lorelai looked at her quizzically but handed her the mug. "You're awake?" Rory nodded, "And dressed?" Lorelai shrugged. "You have to leave for rehearsals in 5 minutes. I was going to wake you up earlier but I… err.. forgot."

Rory nodded slowly, following Lorelai back out into the kitchen.

"Maannnnnn." Lorelai groaned, "It sucks that you have to go to school on a Saturday. I was hoping you'd sleep in and be so late that you wouldn't want to go anymore!"

Rory shrugged. "The first performance is in less than a fortnight, and this is the only full cast dress rehearsal we have."

Lorelai nodded grudgingly, "Dean's giving you a lift to Chilton, right?"

Rory nodded, as she put her pop tarts in the toaster. Walking over to the table, she sat down and picked up the newspaper, flicking through it.

TOOOOOOT TOOOT

Rory looked at her watch, "Damn, he's early." Stuffing a section of the newspaper in her bag, she grabbed her poptart, hugged Lorelai goodbye and made her way out the front door.

"Hi Dean." She greeted, smiling brightly, sitting down and buckling up.

"Hey." He grunted, starting up the car.

Sensing he wasn't in such a talkative mood, she stayed silent, but took the newspaper back out of her bag and began reading.

The drive was eerily quiet, Rory reading her paper, and Dean concentrating on the road.

Suddenly, Rory gasped. Dean was startled and turned to her, "What?"

"It's Uncle Mikey!" she cried, pointing to the page. Sitting there, was a gorgeous full colour photo of a young man and woman, smiling at the camera.

"You don't have any uncles, Rory." Dean pointed out.

Not bothering to explain who Mikey was, she read aloud- "Today, Michael Hughes, founder and owner of Hughes Graphic Design Studios Corp., will wed long-term girlfriend, Sara Grant in an intimate ceremony. Hughes and Grant have been together 4 years, and friends and relatives were delighted when they announced their engagement, 2 months ago." She paused for a moment to gaze at the picture of the couple. Mikey had not changed much in the time she hadn't seen him, and he still looked like the mischievous 17-year old he used to.

"Rory. You do not have any uncles. Therefore, it is not possible for this- _Michael_ to be related to you." Dean said, patronizingly, as though talking to a 4-year old.

Rory glared at him. "He's not _my_ uncle." She explained, equally as patronizing, "He's TJ's."

"I've never heard of a friend of yours called, TJ, Rory." Dean questioned.

"Maybe that's because you don't listen."

"Or maybe its because you're so busy with everything else these days you don't ever tell me anything. Or remember me…" Dean mumbled the last part and Rory had hardly heard it. Hardly.

She looked at him incredulously. "You know that isn't true, Dean."

"Yes it _is_, Rory. You haven't spoken to me in _10_ _days_. And then you call me, but only so you can get some kind of transport to somewhere _else_ I wont be. We never talk anymore."

"We do too!" she protested.

"No Rory, we don't. You've hardly even spoken to me today! The only thing you've spoken about is some other guy!"

"I thought you didn't _want_ to talk!" she defended

Dean just shrugged, as he pulled into the Chilton car park. Rory folded her newspaper wordlessly and put it into her bag.

"I'll call you later." She said as she opened the door.

He started the engine and turned to face her. "Don't bother."

Rory stood absolutely motionless as she watched Dean's car drive away. Had she just been _dumped? _

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her cell phone ringing.

Fishing it out of her bag, she flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Hey Mary." An all-too-familiar drawl sounded from the other end of the line. "How are you?"

"Tristan?" she asked, puzzled as to why he'd be calling her.

"Do you know anyone else who calls you Mary?" he retorted

"Fortunately, no. I just don't know why you'd be calling me. And how did you get my number?" she asked, suspiciously.

"I looked your home number up in the Chilton directory, and your Mom gave me this number." He explained, "Speaking of your Mom, she seemed to know an awful lot about me. Must talk about me a lot, hey Mary? Telling her about your undying love for me, the incredible lust you feel, the-"

"Don't you think that's laying it on a little thick?" Rory cut in

Tristan sighed. "I knew this conversation would come up sooner rather than later"

"What conversation?" she asked, totally puzzled

"Well, you know…"

"No." she replied, "I don't."

"Sex." He said, bluntly

"What? I did _not_ bring_ that _conversation up!"

"I believe the words 'lay' and 'thick' were used."

Rory rolled her eyes. She could practically _feel_ Tristan's smirk over the phone.

"Well, you know I didn't just call so you could hear my voice," he said, breaking the silence.

"Surprise, surprise." Rory muttered

"I called you to tell you I won't be at rehearsals today." He finished.

"What? Why not?" Rory asked surprised. "You know this is the only full cast dress rehearsal we have."

Tristan laughed. "Don't worry, Mar. You'll still get the chance to see me in my… _costume_ at the performances."

Rory ignored his comment, referring to his less-than-fully-clothed costume, "Why aren't you coming?" she asked

"I'm best man at my uncle's wedding. I had totally forgotten about the rehearsal."

"Your uncle's wedding, hey? That's a bit exciting."

"Yeah, it is."

"Hey," Rory cut in, suddenly remembering, "my uncle is getting married today too! Well, technically he isn't my uncle but still…"

"Coincidence." He commented.

"Mmm hmmm." Rory nodded. "Well I better go now. You want me to tell Mr. O'Donnell about the wedding?"

"That'd be great, Mary. Thanks."

Rory rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Goodbye Tristan."

"Later, Mar."

Rory shut her cell phone and put it back in her bag.

Walking into the drama studio, she immediately spotted Mr. O'Donnell, and made a beeline for him.

"Miss Gilmore. How are you?" he greeted, upon seeing her.

Rory thought about it for a second. Eventually, she smiled and said, "I'm good, sir. And yourself?"

* * *


	9. Chapter Eight

_AN Im baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Sorry for the ginormous wait ive just been so blanked lately! I dont know when my next update will be but hopefully within the next month, but after that im going on exchange for 6 months and i wont be back till january. hopefully ill get some writing/updating time while im there but theres no guarantees. Sorry!_

* * *

:POP:

"Oh my gosh! It works!"

"What works?" Rory asked, walking into the kitchen to find a thrilled Lorelai sitting in front of the microwave, clapping. "And what was that 'pop' before?" she added, hesitantly.

"The grape!" she cried. "It exploded! Just like Sookie said it would!"

Rory looked at her curiously. "Why exactly are you trying to blow up grapes?"

"Oh, right. Well, the other day, I was hungry so I go 'Hey Sookie, I'm hungry' and she goes 'oh Jackson just bought these grapes over, they're great- why don't you have some of those' but I wanted something warm, right, so I go sure but I feel like something warm how about I just put them in the microwave for a sec' and then she goes 'NO! don't do that! Grapes EXPLODE when you put them in the microwave! So then I go-"

"Okay Mom. I think I get it." Rory stopped her Mom's million-word-a-minute explanation. "I gotta get to school now though so you enjoy blowing up grapes today. You might want to go to work at sometime, I dunno. Just a thought." Adjusting her bag on her back, she walked over to Lorelai to kiss her goodbye. "Remember I have my first performance tonight! I'm not coming home so you've gotta be there at 7 exactly. Okay?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Lorelai cried with mock salute

Rory rolled her eyes but smiled all the same, "Love you Mom!" she called on her way out.

"Love you too babe!" Rory smiled again as she shut the door behind her.

* * *

"Hey Mar. Have you got my kiss?" Tristan greeted her, smirking.

Rory stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. "Your _what_, sorry?"

"My kiss." He repeated slowly, loving the look on her face._ 'Not quite confused, not quite panicked. Panfused.' _He thought and then laughed aloud at his own joke.

"What's so funny?" She asked, panfused.

"I was simply referring to the acorn you were supposed to bring as my 'kiss' to give to Wendy." A look of understanding washed over Rory's face and he couldn't help but smile. "Tsk tsk Mary, thinking dirty thoughts about me during school again?"

Surprising even herself with her reaction, Rory just laughed and hit Tristan playfully. "It's in my bag. I'm sure you'll figure out which is mine. Just get it before you go on. And try not to go through my stuff too much!"

Tristan gave her the 'oooooh' look, raising his eyebrows "Why, Mar? Got something to hide?"

Rory opened her mouth to respond but Mr O'Donnell interrupted, his voice booming throughout the room. "Listen up now _children_." Tristan snorted and Rory elbowed him to keep him quiet. "Tonight, as i would _hope_ you would _all_ be aware, is the opening night. But I wouldn't put it past some of _you_ to forget something as _vital_ as that!" Again

Tristan made a rude gesture towards Mr O'Donnell. Rory lifted her arm to elbow him again, but Tristan caught her wrist just in time.

Rory tried to suppress a laugh and struggled against his grip.

"_AS_ i was saying, tonight is the opening night. The first of 6 _very_ important performances. Now, if _any_ of you had _bothered_ to read the letter i sent home to _all_ the cast members, then you would _know _that Headmaster Charleston has agreed to let all cast members have the afternoon off for each day you are performing." A definite murmer of approval came from the crowd. "_Provided-_", he continued on, "That you all come to rehearsals in the mornings." Rory continued to struggle against Tristan, who was still holding on to her wrist. "These rehearsals will include- Excuse me Miss Gilmore and Mr DuGrey, if you two could wait until I've _finished_ speaking to you to continue your..." he looked at them in distaste, seemingly searching for a word, "coupling... then that would be _fantastic._"

Rory immediately pulled her wrist out of Tristan's grasp and blushed furiously. "Sorry, sir."

Tristan, on the other hand, merely smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "What can i say? Sometimes you just can't wait."

A few people around them laughed and Rory's face grew even redder. Mr O'Donnell gave Tristan a dirty look before continuing on with his speech.

* * *

Rory stood in the wings of the stage, watching the production go on in front of her.

"Hi. I'm Zoë. We met in the auditions. You were the girl who stabbed Tristan, right? Rory Gilmore?"

"That's me." Rory nodded and smiled slightly. "Um, are you performing?" she asked, unsure of how to continue

Zoë shook her head furiously. "Oh no, actings not for me. I'm a techie." She replied, pointing to her black attire.

"Oh." Rory stood next to Zoë awkwardly for a moment, before going back to looking at the performance, this time joined by Zoë.

"Look at that body." Zoë sighed, looking longingly at the stage.

Rory looked at her, confused. "Excuse me?"

"Oh come on." she laughed, "Like you've never thought about how hot Tristan is. Haven't we all?"

Rory blushed. "Uh, no actually, i haven't."

She looked at Tristan, who was currently in the middle of talking to Wendy. The same scene she and he had done in their audition. His costume consisted of a loin-cloth type thing, and lots of vines draped across his body. For the first time in her life, Rory allowed herself a quick peek at Tristan DuGrey's body. And even she had to admit, it wasn't totally disappointing.

Tristan walked across the stage and sat down, his back facing her. She studied his back muscles for a second, a sense of deja vu washing over her. Suddenly, she gasped and stumbled backwards.

Zoë steadied her saying, "I know he's hot, but you can't honestly be _that_ shocked"

Rory ignored her though, and continued to stare in the same spot.

There, softly marked on the back of Tristan's left shoulder, were two long, pink, diagonal scars. _TJ's_ scars.

"_You have two cuts on your back and there's two of us!" _Her own four-year old's voice rung throughout her head

_"Yeah!"_ TJ's voice came through just as clearly, _"And I have two eyes!"_

Two piercing blue eyes. Eyes that belonged also to Tristan DuGrey.

Rory's head was spinning madly. Surely it was only a coincidence!

She thought over it for a second and as though it were a undeveloped photo, it slowly began to get clearer and clearer until it all came into focus, right in front of her eyes.

The scars. _Tristan-Janlen _DuGrey. A re-married Grandfather. Uncle Mikey's wedding.

A guy she could only handle in very minimal doses, and that she had only recently made friends with was the most prominent friend in her childhood. Possibly in her _life_.

As the picture finally finished developing in her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if she was alone in seeing it...

* * *

"Droston!" Mr Thomas called

"Tristan." He corrected

Mr Thomas rolled his eyes. "That's what I said, Christian. You're on soon. Get ready."

"I am." Tristan stated bluntly.

"Have you had your costume approved?"

"Yep."

"Have you read over the script agian?"

"Several times." He smirked triumphantly.

Mr Thomas have Tristan a once-over, seemingly looking for something to pull Tristan up on. "Where's your acorn?" he asked, eyebrows raised. "I trust Lori-lai brought it from that inn of hers like she said she would."

'_Dammit_' Tristan tried as hard as he could not to let the old man know he'd beaten him in their petty battle but failed miserably. "I'll get it." He sulked off towards the change rooms.

Quickly spotting Rory's bag, he went over to it and unzipped it.

He chuckled as he went through her bag. She had at least 4 books in there, as well as a newspaper and other papers. Lifting it all out, he set it on the table, preparing to continue searching, when something caught his eye.

On the top of the pile was a newspaper, opened and folded around a certain article. The report on Mikey's wedding.

Intigued, Tristan picked it up and read over it, holding it in his hands. He looked back at the pile of Rory's stuff on the table and gasped at what he saw, shocked.

Sitting there in front of him, was the picture Mikey had drawn for _Lori_ all those years ago. Why on earth was it in Rory Gilmore's bag?

He picked that up also and studied it. "Lori & Tris. Friends Forever." he read aloud. There was no mistaking that it was the same picture.

He searched his mind for any logical reason that Rory would have it in her bag.

And then it hit him. Like, 300000 tonne piano on the head, hit him. Rory... was Lori.

It all made sense. Her 'uncle's' wedding last week, her lack of a father, and the name. Lori-lai. There was no denying that she looked like Lori also. All the evidence was there. Rory Gilmore was _most definetly _Lori.

Tristan stood, absolutely stunned for at least a minute. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized earlier.

Staring off into the distance, he whispered, barely audibly, "Princess..."


	10. Chapter Nine

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls, duh. Opinions and values represented are mine only etc etc._

* * *

_"I'll have 3 cokes, fries and 3 boxes of cookies, thanks. Oh-sorry- make that two." Mikey quickly stopped the waitress before she'd walked away. "Dammit," he cursed under this breath, "That's the 2nd time that's happened this week!" He looked across the table at TJ who was sitting silently, staring absently out the window. "It's a bit of a change without Lori, isn't it T?" he asked softly_

_TJ just shrugged, "I guess so."_

_Silence lapsed between the two boys for a moment. "Hey- so, buddy- you never told me about how your new school is!" Mikey said, anxious to break the silence._

_"Well, it's OK." He said, seemingly not too interested in conversation, "The playgrounds way huge but they don't have a sand-pit..."_

_"And uh..." Mikey began, unsure of how to approach the subject, "Are you OK without Lori?"_

_Again, TJ just shrugged and silence lapsed between them._

_Suddenly, TJ exclaimed "Oh! I almost forgetted!"_

_"Forgot," Mikey corrected lightly, "What did you forget?"_

_"I still gotta write Lori a letter for today!" TJ quickly flipped over the paper placemat in front of him and proceeded to draw curved lines across the page._

_"Uhh... What exactly does that say, T?" Mikey asked, happy to see his nephew back to his usual bouncy self_

_"I thought you said you could read, Uncle Mikey!" he accused, raising his eyebrows_

_Mikey chuckled, "Oh, I can, T. I just want you to read it to me."_

_TJ looked at his uncle sceptically, but cleared his throat oh-so-dramatically and began to read. "Dear Lori..."_

"Today at school we did papier Mache. It was tricky, but not too tricky for me..." Tristan said out loud, the memories of 'writing' the letter flooding back so quickly.

Sighing deeply, he put the letter back down on the stack and lent back against the headboard of his bed.

He'd returned home from the play ages ago, but sleep had evaded him. Somehow, he'd managed to avoid one-on-one time with Rory for the rest of the night, but now he couldn't get her out of his mind. A few hours ago he'd remembered the box of letters he'd written to Lori stuffed away in the back of his closet, and had been reading his way through them since.

He couldn't believe how many letters there were there. Sure, he knew he'd written a fair few but he'd never actually thought about how many _exactly._

He'd managed to divide them in his mind into three categories- the seemingly endless pages of nothing but curved lines, that he'd 'written' her almost every day after he'd left for goodness-knows how long. The occasional letter or card that he'd written her throughout his elementary school years- and finally, the Chilton letters. Of these, there were few but they always seemed to strike a chord with Tristan the most.

Tristan sat up and picked up the nearest one to him and skimmed over it again.

Hey, how've you been?

I feel like you're near me... Yeah, I know that was a corny thing to say but really, I do... Do you even remember me?... bet you're somewhere great right now, where everyone loves you. They always did, didn't they… Anyway, you've probably got better things to do than read a letter from me- I'll let you go...

See you soon

Love, TJ

And that's how he'd signed off _every_ letter- see you soon. 15 years with no word from her and yet every single letter was signed with _see you soon_.

Oh, if only he could've known how right he was...

Again, he leaned back on the headboard. What was he supposed to do now?

What if Rory had known all along and didn't want to bring up the past again? What if she was completely oblivious, and when he told her she freaked out and didn't want to see him ever again? What if she didn't even remember TJ?

But then again... what if she did? What if she was just as clueless as he had been? What if she'd been waiting to see him again all these years too?

Tristan suddenly had a wave of inspiration- he wasn't going to lose her again, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure of it.

* * *

Rory awoke groggily, hearing a car pull out of her driveway. What time was it?

Rolling over, she looked at her alarm clock- 6:25- Five minutes before her alarm would have gone off. Slowly, she lifted herself out of bed, the effects of the amount of sleep (or lack thereof) she'd had last night making themselves very present. Rubbing her eyes and slipping on her slippers, she walked out the front of the house to get the paper.

Walking back to the door after having retrieved the paper, something caught Rory's eye. She walked over to the chair at the end of the porch to examine it more closely. Sitting there was an old black shoebox. An old black shoebox with an envelope signed _Lori_ on top of it.

That woke her up like a bucket of cold water. Quickly, Rory seated herself next to the box and took the envelope from the top of it, almost ripping it open.

A small, simple piece of lined paper floated out from the envelope, landing neatly in her lap. She picked it up to read it,

"_Hey_," She read aloud, "_This might sound crazy but if you understand, call me. -T_"

Intrigued and slightly panicked, Rory opened the box. Inside, was what looked like hundreds of pieces of old paper. She picked up the one from the top and read it.

_Dear Lori,_

_Happy 7th Birthday! Have a great day!_

_I miss you- You should come visit me at my new house! That would be so cool._

_See you soon_

_TJ -xoxo-_

Rory looked over all the other papers- sure enough; they were all letters to her- from TJ. Well, _Tristan_.

Suddenly, all the same feelings of confusion and panic from the previous night began to return. She didn't know what to think. How long had Tristan known for? How was she supposed to react to this situation?

Picking up another few letters, Rory spent about a quarter of an hour reading them. Tristan had evidently missed her after he'd left… Heck, there were even letters there that he'd written last semester…

Rory put her head in her hands. What was she supposed to do? She couldn't exactly just _not_ call Tristan… he'd made the effort to try and re-establish the bond with her- calling him was the _least_ she could do.

Slowly, she made her way back into the house, box in arm. Setting it down on the table, Rory picked up the phone, which was surprisingly where it _should_ have been, dialled the number for the local directory and shortly found herself waiting, listening to the ring of Tristan's cell phone.

"Hello?" That oh-so-familiar voice sounded from the other end of the line.

Instantly regretting calling, Rory said nothing.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" He asked, slightly confused

Rory held her breath, not wanting to be heard but at the same time, for some bizarre reason- not wanting to hang up.

"Mary? Is that you?" He asked, his voice hopeful, but again Rory stayed silent.

"Maarryyy." He teased, chuckling.

That was too much for Rory, and she cracked. "Its _Rory_." she said, exasperated.

She could practically _feel_ him smirk over the phone, "And at last our mystery caller has a name. How do you do, Ror?"

Rory smiled and felt herself relax completely. Only Tristan could take a situation as bizarre as this and make it seem normal. "I'm well, thankyou, and yourself?"

"Good, good. I'm fine. Hey look- I was wondering- what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Don't we have school?" She asked, puzzled

"Nope." He said happily, "Remember? All this week we have rehearsals in the morning but the afternoons off to 'rest up' for the evening's performance"

"Oh yeah. Well, uh- I don't know… why?"

"I was just thinking- we should get to know each other." He proposed, as though it was the most normal response in the world.

"I already know you, Tristan." She said, almost patronizingly.

"No, Ror." He began, his joking voice showing that he had ignored the way she spoke to him, "I mean _really _get to know each other. I want to know what you've been doing for the past 15 odd years."

And finally- the subject she'd been waiting for came up.

Rory said nothing, her earlier nervousness returning.

"C'mon… Lori- what d'you say?" he encouraged playfully, "I've got some place to show you." He added, with just a hint of innuendo.

"Tristan!" She cried, "I do _not_ want to see your bedroom!"

Tristan laughed, "Playing hard to get, are we? No, I'm only joking- I actually had no intention of taking you anywhere near my house but hey, maybe some other time?"

Rory blushed, embarrassed by her outburst

"Okay then," She semi-reluctantly agreed, "But _no_ bedrooms!"

Tristan chuckled, "I'll see you then."

* * *

"Well," Rory began, walking out of the drama centre after their morning rehearsal, "That wasn't too bad."

"Not terrible," Tristan agreed, "But it's good to finally be out of there."

This reminded Rory of their earlier conversation that day, "So where exactly are we going, Tristan?" she asked

"You'll see." He answered enigmatically, walking towards and unlocking his car.

Rory didn't ask more, knowing better than to even attempt to get a secret out of Tristan, and instead just followed him to his car and got in the passenger seat.

They drove in comfortable silence, neither really feeling the need to say anything. Suddenly, Tristan said, "Okay, you have to close your eyes!"

"I'm not closing my eyes, Tristan!" She protested

"C'mon, it'll be better this way."

"Fine." she agreed reluctantly.

They continued driving for around another minute until the car came to a stop. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Rory opened her eyes and looked out the windshield. "A tree? You took me to a tr-" Suddenly Rory stopped short of what she was going to say. "Oh my goodness, Tristan, are we where I think we are?"

Tristan nodded, grinning.

Still slightly stunned, Rory got out of the car. Standing in front of her, in all its glory was her and TJ's old tree house. Well, actually right now, in it's dilapidated state it didn't look much like a tree house at all but in Rory's mind it was still exactly as it had been all those years ago.

"Voila," he presented, "Our treehouse!"

Intrigued, Rory walked over to its old trunk, feeling the rough bark. Picking off a tiny piece of it, she moved away from the tree and sat down on the grass underneath.

Silence lapsed between the two of them for a while. Finally, Rory broke the silence, "I haven't been here since… well, since you left." She told him honestly

Tristan came and sat next to her on the grass. "I haven't come here in ages either," he admitted, "I just figured it'd not be a bad place for us to come hang out today."

Rory nodded slowly, "Good thinking." Then smiling, she added softly, "For once."

Tristan chuckled, glad that the previous mood had been broken, "Feel like playing a game?" he suggested

"Isn't that all we ever do?" Rory retorted

"No," he argued, "I mean, one of those lame getting-to-know-you games we always play on the first day of school. After all, the whole point of this is to get to know each other." He pointed out. "How about 20 Questions?"

Rory shook her head, "How boring. 10 Answers?"

"Answers? How does that work?" He asked

"Well, the person who usually asks the question says any word and the person who usually answers has to come up with a question that that word would have been the answer to if it were asked to them."

Tristan grinned, "Okay then, sounds simple enough. You start."

Rory shrugged, "Okay then… _Right_."

"What are you always?" he replied quickly.

"Tristan! This is _supposed_ to be about getting to know one another." Rory argued, but smiled all the same.

"Fine then. Which side of the bed would you prefer I stick to tonight?"

Rory opened her mouth, shocked, "Tristan! You know that's not what I mean by _getting to know_ you!"

"Chill, Ror. You know I'm only kidding." He laughed, "But serious about the right-side of the bed thing."

Despite herself, Rory laughed too, "Alright Casanova, your turn."

"Hmmm," Tristan pretended to think, "_Brunette_."

"What is Rory?" she answered, simply.

"Excuse me," he began indignantly, "Little Miss Getting-to-Know each other; I don't accept that as an answer."

"Okay then," she said, smiling slightly mischievously, "Blondes or Brunettes?"

"Ouch." He replied, putting his hand to heart, "But there you go, Mar, another preference in our partners we have in common." He added, winking.

Rory rolled her eyes. "My turn… _Yes_."

Tristan raised his hands in defence, "Now c'mon, Mar, that's a direct provocation for an answer you don't want to hear."

Again, Rory rolled her eyes, "That could have been the answer to anything, Tristan! Fine, _Nine_."

"How many times have you broken a bone in your body?"

Rory gaped in surprise, "You've broken _nine_ bones?"

Tristan laughed, "I went through a BMX phase as a kid." He explained

Rory smiled at the mental image of Tristan falling off a bike.

"Okay, so my turn," Tristan snapped Rory out of her funniest-home-videos style daydream, "_Never_…"

"Hey, thanks for driving me home." Rory said politely, getting out of the car

"Always a pleasure, Mar." He replied, with the usual charm. "So I'll see you at the performance tonight?"

Rory nodded.

"Hey, today was fun. Why don't we do the same tomorrow?" He suggested

Rory nodded, smiling, "Um, yeah, okay."

"Great," Tristan smiled.

"Only this time, I get to choose the spot." Rory added.

Tristan grinned, "You've got yourself a deal, Princess."

* * *

Please review and tell me what you thought. Any suggestions would be so so so welcome.

Peace.


	11. Chapter Ten

_Disclaimer:_ If you haven't realised by now that GG fanfic authors are not Amy Sherman-Palladino, then I'm sorry to be the one to burst your bubble. I do not own Gilmore Girls.

* * *

If Tristan DuGrey had to fancy himself a particular crayola colour, it would be lizard blue. There was nothing particularly remarkable about this colour but since the first time he had seen the crayon, Tristan was intrigued by what made this particular shade of blue lizard-like. He couldn't imagine that there were any lizards that had blue scales, although there were blue-tongue lizards. In this case, why wasn't the crayon called 'lizard-tongue blue'?

"Well then, Bible Boy?" Rory persisted impatiently. "Have you decided? If you could be any colour in the crayola variety, which would it be?"

"Lizard blue," He answered with assurance, "because it's as delightfully enigmatic as yours truly."

Rory laughed, "You know what? For once I actually agree with you. You _are_ about as enigmatic as a crayon!"

Tristan frowned good-naturedly. "Ouch. My turn to ask now. If your life had a soundtrack, what song would be playing right now?"

"Good question." Rory complimented, impressed by his creativity. She thought for a moment before coming up with, "Mmmbop, Hanson."

"Are you serious?" he mocked, "You're thinking of _Hanson_ while we're hanging out? Why, good heavens?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "mmmbop, y'know."

"No, I do not know." He stated seriously.

Rory laughed, "Oh c'mon. Mmmbop!" To further make her point, Rory sang the first line of the famous song's chorus, "mmm bop bippiy dop pop doo whop!"

Tristan chuckled and shook his head as he parked his car in the Chilton parking lot. "Well, here we are, my little teeny-bopper. Prepared for another 4 hours of awe-inspiring rehearsal?"

Rory's great smile soured a little at the thought. "We better get going in. Thanks for the lift here by the way, even if you can't appreciate the superiority that is mmmbop."

Tristan grinned, "No problem. It was fun. Just try not to sing that horrid song next time, hey?" he joked, "Have you decided where we'll be going for our date this afternoon yet?"

"Not yet." Rory admitted guiltily. "And for the record, it is _not_ a date."

Biting back a smirk, he led Rory into the theatre.

* * *

"Ah, Christian! Just the man I was looking for." Mr O'Donnell greeted them as soon as they walked in the door. Tristan opened his mouth to correct him but was abruptly cut off, "Ms Ceriman backstage would like to speak with you briefly about costuming."

Not bothering to attempt speech, Tristan merely nodded and made his way backstage, leaving Rory alone with Mr O'Donnell, much to her chagrin.

Before she even had the chance to move away, he struck. "I'm not sure _what_ you're hoping to achieve by standing about doing _nothing_, Miss Gilmore." He scolded arrogantly, pointing a stubby finger at her. "Why don't you run along now and start preparing for a dress rehearsal?"

It took all of Rory's willpower not to tell him where he could put his stubby little finger and his attitude as she stalked off backstage.

Sitting in one of the chairs in front of the make-up mirror, Rory sighed. _'So much rudeness for such a little man'_. She was so consumed by her angry thoughts that she didn't even notice Zoë approach her and begin to mix the necessary make-up for the dress rehearsal.

"Are you feeling okay, Rory?"

Rory looked up to see Zoë analysing her face, clearly concerned. She smiled to reassure her, "I'm fine. How are you this morning?"

"Me? I'm great. But you look a bit preoccupied."

Rory sighed, "I guess I've just got a lot on my mind."

Zoë picked up some of the stage make-up and began to apply it to Rory's face. "Anything that I can help with?" She offered.

"No, there's noth-" Rory faltered, "Unless… well I have this… _friend_, you see, that I'm spending the afternoon with."

"Oooh, a date?" Zoë pried, smiling gleefully.

"No, nothing like that." Rory quickly corrected, "He's just an old friend that I'm trying to re-get to know."

"Okay," Zoë put her serious I'm-here-to-help face back on. "So what's the problem?"

"The _problem _is that I'm supposed to decide where we'll be going and what we'll be doing this afternoon and I have _no_ idea what to choose for either of them." Rory explained, exasperated.

A few moments passed while the two girls considered the options in silence. Suddenly, Zoë sat up straight in her chair and pointed her foundation brush in the air, splattering some make-up on the mirror on its way. "I have an idea!" she exclaimed.

Rory nodded, urging her to go on.

"_Well_," she began dramatically, "the most fun I've ever had on a date was-"

"It's not a date." Rory reminded her gently.

"Right," Zoë patronised, giving her a huge wink, "Not a date. Anyway, as I was saying about this date…" Zoë continued her story and to Rory's delight, it was actually a great idea.

Relieved to have one more aspect of her relationship with Tristan under control, Rory set off to the wings to wait for her time to go on stage.

* * *

'_To hell with what science says' _thought Rory, _'time most certainly does not travel at a fixed speed.'_ Walking out of the theatre, she felt incredibly frustrated by how slow the rehearsal had seemed to go that morning. To make matters worse, Mr O'Donnell seemed convinced that the girl who played Wendy was still acting too vixen-like and had made it Rory's duty to teach her how to "look like birds help her get dressed in the morning".

She was so relieved when Mr O'Donnell was finally satisfied enough to let them leave that she practically ran out of the theatre.

She walked over to the passenger side of Tristan's car, waiting for him to arrive to take her away from the theatre. She was actually beginning to really enjoy his company and was happy that they were taking the chance to get to know each other better. Who knew that under all Tristan's layers of bravado there actually lay a nice guy?

Seeing him approaching her, a genuine smile made its way on to Rory's face, her previous sulky mood forgotten.

Tristan, surprised to see this sudden positive change to Rory's facial expression, smiled a brilliant smile right back at her. The pair stood, contemplating each other's smiles for a moment before snapping out of their trance and making their way into the car.

Fastening his seatbelt, Tristan turned to Rory. "Where to then, captain?"

"Westfarms' Mall." She replied, her smile still present.

He looked surprised for a moment before responding, "You want to spend the afternoon at _the mall_?"

"By George, I think he's got it." She replied sarcastically.

Putting the car in gear, Tristan pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the mall. Impatience finally got the best of him and he insisted Rory tell him what exactly they were going to do at the mall.

Excitedly, she began to explain. "It was an idea that Zoë gave me. I figured, since we've missed so many of each other's birthdays that it was fitting."

Tristan nodded, "Go on…"

"We're going to have a very belated birthday lunch to celebrate all of our passed birthdays." She announced gleefully.

"Great idea." He complimented, smiling. "So why are we going to the mall?"

"Well, as I'm sure you know, no birthday party is complete without presents. So we're going to the mall to buy each other a present. Just a small, token thing- no dearer than 5 but I thought it would be fun."

"You know, Ror, I don't even need to go to the mall for my present. I have a gift that I'm willing to share totally free of charge…" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Rory laughed at his poorly-executed line. "No thanks, Tristan. You can keep that uh… _gift_ all to yourself."

* * *

After twenty minutes of searching the mall, Tristan still had no clue what to give Rory for their belated birthday celebration. What could anyone buy for 5? Half a movie ticket, three quarters of a smoothie, a few candy bars…

He sighed. He wanted to be able to buy her the perfect gift but he was simply inexperienced at shopping with such a low budget. _'I guess it's just a token gift so it doesn't need to be perfect.'_ he thought, resigned.

Walking on a bit further, he finally spotted a shop where he _knew_ he would be able to find a great gift for Rory.

And he did.

* * *

"So, what did you get me?" Rory asked excitedly, after they had eaten lunch.

"My, my, Rory. Didn't your mother ever teach you that patience is a virtue?" He teased.

"I've already waited the whole way through the meal! But you know what, come to think of it; I don't think my mother ever did. My mother has never been particularly keen on the whole patience thing either." She admitted.

Shaking his head, Tristan took the brown paper bag next to him and passed it across the table to her.

Rory quickly took the present from him, taking it out of its bag and unwrapping it from its tissue paper shell, to reveal a large black coffee mug with the words 'I drink my coffee black to impress people' written in on the side.

"I drink my coffee black because I like it that way, thank you very much!" she admonished jokingly. "That, and it makes the caffeine's journey from my mug to my blood stream more direct. How did you know I do anyway?"

He brushed off her question, "Just something I've noticed you do. But that's not the point. Would you _look_ at the mug?" He insisted, holding the mug in his hands.

Rory stared at the mug, not understanding what Tristan had meant. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to notice something?"

Tristan sighed mockingly, "It's a _beautiful_ mug. You see, there's a nice surface area on the top and the china isn't too thick so it's quite nice to hold on to because you'll be able to feel the warmth from your drink, but not overly so. And that's not even mentioning the sheer size of the cup- I think we both know that when it comes to coffee cups, size most definitely matters."

Rory chuckled, "Who knew you could be so anal about a coffee cup?"

Tristan put his hand to his heart, "This is not just a coffee mug, Rory, it's a piece of real craftsmanship. I mean, would you look at that curve?" He put his two hands around the cup to illustrate his point.

On impulse, Rory took Tristan's hands lightly in hers. "Thank you for putting so much thought into my gift."

Surprised by her affectionate gesture, Tristan grinned.

Rory looked at him and chuckled, drawing her hands back.

"What are you laughing about?" he questioned, wishing she hadn't taken her hands away.

"No, it's nothing. You've just had the goofiest smile on your face all afternoon. It's different."

Tristan bowed his head and could feel his cheeks turn crimson. "Stop. Did Tristan satan-spawn DuGrey just _blush_?" Rory mocked. "Not possible!"

"No!" He refuted, blushing even deeper. "I'm not blushing. It happens to be a bit too warm in here is all." To emphasise his point, he started to fan himself with his hand. "But maybe I'm just happy to have my friend back."

Rory gave Tristan a warm look and she didn't have to say so for him to know that she was happy to be rekindling the friendship also.

She passed her gift for Tristan across the table and he was intrigued to see what she had bought him.

Taking it out from the plastic bag, Tristan laughed when he saw that she had given him a green Kermit the frog 'rainbow connection' t-shirt.

"I remembered how much you used to love the rainbow connection song when we were younger and I saw this t-shirt in an op shop so…" she trailed off.

"It's fantastic! Thank you." He said genuinely, folding the t-shirt up and putting it back in the bag.

The pair sat for what felt like hours, talking about some of the most trivial things and some more important. It was with reluctance that Rory came to realise how quickly the traitorous time had now passed them by.

Looking at her watch, she frowned. "We should probably start heading back to the theatre now. I dread to think what Mr O'Donnell would do if we were late."

"You're right." He agreed grudgingly. "It's going to be difficult for me to find something for us to do tomorrow afternoon as good as our date today though, I gotta say. You're a hard act to follow, Miss Gilmore."

Rory put her hands on her hips, "What makes you so sure that I'll want to spend time with you again tomorrow?"

Tristan's trademark smirk made an appearance at last, "Well, you do, don't you?"

Rory bowed her head to hide her smile. Yes, she most certainly did.

* * *

_AN_ Two years for an update! That has got to be some sort of record, I'm sure, but I thank anyone who is actually continuing to read this after such a long hiatus.

Please leave any feedback you have, I'd love to hear it. It was actually a recent review I got that gave me the motivation to write this chapter!

If you do not know what Rory means by "Y'know, mmmbop" then I seriously suggest you youtube it. Y'know, mmmbop.


	12. Chapter Eleven

A/N: And im back in the game! Ah, I suck, I know. But I'm back and noone was hurt and that's what really matters.

A very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Hoping to have this finished in the coming weeks so thank you so very much for your patience. This chapter has been six years in the making, so please read, enjoy and review if you can.

* * *

"You took me to your house? Really, Tristan, I'm not going to sleep with you. Shockingly enough, unlike other girls, just taking me to your bedroom is not going to do the trick." Rory admonished as Tristan pulled up his car outside his house.

He sighed mockingly, putting his hand on his chest. "Of course, I forget. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink and all that. But seriously, you haven't been here before. How did you know it was my house?" He pointed his finger at her. "Rory Gilmore, have you been stalking me? Look, I've told you once and I'll tell you twice, there's plenty of the TJ to go around, all you gotta do is ask."

Rory pretended to be sick. "Please, oh God, may I never have to hear you refer to yourself as 'the TJ' again." she laughed, "And it doesn't take a genius to realize this is your house. The BMW in the driveway with the 'DuGr3y' vanity plates was a bit of a giveaway. You know, I would make a joke about thinking that your family had a little too much class for vanity plates like that but let's face it, we all know I don't think that highly of you."

She laughed again as she stepped out of the car and began to walk up the drive. "Hey, I resent that!" Tristan called after her. "I have plenty of class!" She ignored him, walking further up the drive. "You better watch that smart mouth of yours, Miss Gilmore" he threatened, a cheeky grin beginning to make its way on to his face.

"Or what?" She yelled back to him, not turning around from her walk up to the front door.

"Or I may just have to come see if you're still as ticklish as I remember!" He shouted and this time she turned around, a surprised look on her face.

"You wouldn't dare!" She protested.

"I would!" Before she had a chance to reply, Tristan had set off running towards her. She shrieked with surprise, running away down the side of the house. He laughed, chasing after her and she couldn't help but laugh too. It was ridiculous, really; two grown adults chasing after each other for a tickle fight. They could barely run they were laughing so hard and eventually they had to stop so they could breathe.

Tristan moved closer, slowly, extending his hand. "A truce" he proposed and Rory accepted, shaking his hand as she caught her breath. Standing up straight, she shrieked as Tristan grabbed her waist quickly, pinching her in her most ticklish spot.

She laughed, slapping his hand away. "OK, you win. Now go fetch me some water, boy."

He smiled and they made their way around his house in silence. Rory's waist still felt warm where he had touched her. She pushed the thought away, embarrassed, fidgeting with her shirt as she sat down at a stool around his kitchen bench.

"So what's your grand plan for this afternoon?" she asked, focusing on other things. "You said I was going to be a hard act to follow after yesterday, so what mastermind plans have you conducted for this afternoon?"

Tristan looked guilty. "Ah, to be honest. I don't have a grand plan." He admitted. "Actually, I was hoping we could just hang out today. I'm just so tired from the play this week, I didn't really have the imagination or energy for anything else today."

She put her hand on his shoulder, "You're getting old, DuGrey." She laughed.

"It would appear so." He sighed. "So I was thinking, it's a nice day. Maybe we could put together some lunch and eat out in the garden?"

"Tristan Janlen DuGrey. Did you just suggest we have a _picnic_?" She shook her head. "My, my, this is serious. It would appear you are getting not only old, but - dare I say it - soft!"

Tristan smiled devilishly, quickly holding onto Rory's hand which hadn't moved from his shoulder. "Oh, but how wrong you are, Miss Gilmore. I would be more than happy to demonstrate for you how less than _soft_ I am..."

Rory laughed, snatching her hand away. "Ugh, in your dreams, Tristan."

He winked and moved away towards the cupboard, collecting food for their picnic. Rory tried to ignore the flutter she had felt when he winked at her, confused by the way her body was reacting to him today. She hadn't had any coffee since earlier in the morning; she was probably just getting the shakes from her caffeine withdrawal.

"Any coffee in that cupboard of yours?"

* * *

Rory and Tristan burst into the backstage dressing room, gasping for breath for the second time that day.

Tristan spotted Mr O'Donnell and approached him to apologize, "Mr O'Donnell, I'm sorry we're late. There was traffic and -"

"Oh, Christian, I would just _love_ to hear about the trials and tribulations of being a teenager and just how truly _impossible_ it is for you to be punctual. Perhaps afterwards we could paint each other's nails and braid our hair and hold hands and skip off into the sunset but _in case you failed to notice_ which it seems as though you _have,_ I am _trying_ to put on a production here and you, young man, are wasting my time. Now go get dressed."

Mr O'Donnell stormed off in the way only a drama teacher can and Tristan turned to find Rory smirking at him. "Nice one, _Christian_. Why bother apologizing with him?" She teased.

"Are you smirking?" He asked in disbelief.

Rory's smirk grew. "Never. I don't smirk. This is just my watching-Tristan-get-annihilated smile."

Tristan matched her smirk and raised his voice, "Well, maybe, Rory, if you hadn't insisted we go for ROUND TWO, then we would have left my bed a little sooner and we wouldn't have been late at all."

There was a time when Rory would have blushed furiously and ran to the nearest dark corner at a blatant lie like that. But that time had passed.

She too raised her voice, putting her hand on Tristan's arm and in her very most patronizing voice, saying "Well dear, maybe if round one hadn't been so well, _brief_, I wouldn't have needed to insist."

Satisfied that enough people around them had heard, Rory patted his arm and left him, her watching-Tristan-get-annihilated smile firmly in place.

* * *

"That was a cheap shot you pulled earlier, Rory." Tristan said, approaching her at the end of the performance.

"Oh, like your comment was profound?" She retorted.

They smiled at each other, neither willing to back down. "You want a ride home?" He offered.

Rory shrugged, "It's totally out of your way."

He smiled, "I don't mind." Rory smiled too, secretly happy to have a few moments more with Tristan.

So naturally, the time passed faster than usual as he drove. It felt as though they had laughed the whole way home, sharing stories about all the silly things the cast and crew had done over the past few weeks.

Finally, they pulled up to her house. Tristan got out of the car with her, walking her to the door as he finished his story.

"So then, Mr O'Donnell told Carla she was colder than the Arctic Circle and she actually asked him if the Arctic Circle was a _gang_! Can you believe that?" Rory laughed out loud, shocked that Tristan could continue to find such unbelievable stories about his on-stage counterpart's stupidity.

Their laughter gradually subsided but they both stayed where they were; the night over, but neither quite willing to leave.

As the silence began to grow heavy, Rory grew strangely nervous. "Well, I'd better go." She mumbled.

"Wait." Tristan stopped her. He stayed quiet for a few moment. "It's just... Listen, I've had a great time this week." He said quietly, taking a step closer.

"Of course, me too." She replied quickly, nervously. "But why do people say 'listen' before they start talking? I was already listening, you know, you didn't need to remind me." Rory felt her heart pounding in her chest as she rambled nervously. If only Tristan wasn't standing so close.

"I mean, imagine if you had to say 'listen' every time you wanted to say something. That would just be a waste of time. 'Listen, hello', 'Listen goodbye.'"

Rory knew by now that what she was saying had stopped making sense but she couldn't stop herself talking. Tristan was standing so close. She could smell his skin and talking like this was the only way she could stop herself from reaching out to see if he felt as good as it looked.

"It just isn't an economical use of words. Not to mention that it presupposes that I don't value what you have to say. Because I do, you know. I do value what you have to say."

Tristan chuckled. "Are you done?"

Rory blushed. It hadn't felt like there was a single centimeter between them but apparently there had been as Tristan managed to take another step closer. She could feel the heat radiating off of him and this time she had no words to defend herself.

She stared into his chest, afraid to give him eye contact. She saw him raise his hand and felt him slowly place it on her cheek. "Rory," he whispered.

She knew what would happen if she looked up. She swallowed, willing words to find their way from her mind to her mouth but for once, she was quiet. His hand felt warm on her skin and it took all her self control not to reach out and touch him.

Her heart thumped wildly and she was sure by now that Tristan could feel and possibly even hear it beating right out of her chest.

"Rory," he whispered again, moving his hand into her hair and this time she couldn't stay still.

She looked up and closed the space between them, pressing her lips against his. He seemed surprised at first but recovered quickly, pulling her as close to him as possible as she ran her hands through his hair.

It was as though all of Rory's senses had been dulled but her sense of touch was intensified like never before. She couldn't hear, see, smell or taste a thing but every last nerve ending was screaming for her to touch him more. His lips were so soft and her skin buzzed where he had touched her.

The cool and calm Tristan she knew was nowhere to be seen either. As he scrambled to bring her as close as he could, Rory could feel his heart beating as erratically as her own.

She quickly began to feel lightheaded and she realized she had stopped breathing. She broke away from him reluctantly, resting her forehead on his and breathing loudly. He kept his hands in her hair, not moving away.

They stayed like that for a few moments, gathering their breath before they were jolted out of their reverie by the sound of Tristan's cell phone ringing in his pocket.

He didn't answer it but Rory moved away anyway. "Rory.." he started.

"It's getting late. I should go inside." She explained nervously as his phone continued to ring.

Tristan fidgeted, trying to find away to stabilize the situation. His mind was completely blown but he was desperately seeking a way to stop Rory from freaking out. "OK sure." he agreed, "Can I see you again tomorrow afternoon?"

"I'm busy." She lied quickly, "I have an appointment". She knew how false it sounded even before she finished saying it. She didn't even know why she was lying but she was focused on putting as much distance as possible between her and Tristan.

He looked worried, "Well, can I pick you up tomorrow morning?".

"No, no thank you." She looked away as the sound of his cell phone ringing once again filled the air. "You should get that." She said, moving towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Rory..." He pled but she quickly went through the door, shutting it firmly behind her.


End file.
